I have been writing this blog for a few months and during that time I have had some amazing opportunities. I have had the chance to write about the sport that I love and the chance to be as creative as I wanted to be. However, I am going to be writing less on this blog. I will be writing more for the other blogs that I am not contributing to. If you enjoy my writing, please follow me on twitter @dennisdownba to stay up with the things that I am writing. This season has started off amazingly well and I look forward to writing more about the NBA season.
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Well, the first night of the season was crazy to say the least. Gordon Hayward looks to be done for the season, the Celtics made a furious comeback and came up short. Then the Warriors got up big and allowed the Rockets to come back and beat them by one point. Those were the only two games last night. Tonight has a full slate with 11 games that include some great match-ups. Let's go over the games to watch.
1. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards bring back their starting five that led them to 49 wins last season and their first game is against the 76ers. Joel Embiid is expected to play although he is on a minutes restriction. This game also marks the debut for Ben Simmons and watching him play in the preseason was interesting. Simmons is the point guard for the 76ers. It is more than likely that Otto Porter Jr. will matchup with Simmons and it will be a good matchup. The 76ers are supposed to be a playoff team according to the majority of people that pick playoff teams and Washington is on a short list of teams that could represent the East in the Finals. This game is going to be good. 2. Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics The Gordon Hayward injury sucks. There is no silver lining, it sucks. The Celtics 2nd game is going to give a good glimpse into how they will move on after losing Hayward. The Bucks have an MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo and are going to be a tough challenge for the Celtics. The Bucks are big and the Celtics are not. The contrast will be great to watch and I am looking forward to seeing more of Point Horford. That's a combination of point guard and Al Horford because Horford is awesome. The Bucks are one of the teams that could capitalize on the Celtics loss of Hayward and this is a good barometer for them. 3. Denver Nuggets vs. Utah Jazz Denver is a great offensive team and the Jazz will be a great defensive team. The Nuggets are playing their first real game with Paul Millsap and the Jazz will be playing their first real game with their new look team full of solid NBA players. There is a great center matchup between Nikola Jokic and Rudy Gobert. I am also excited to see Ricky Rubio with the Jazz. There is also a great deal of buzz surrounding Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell, who seems to have left the University of Louisville at the right time. The Jazz and Nuggets both seem to be fringe playoff teams that might need the head to head in order to get into the playoffs. This may be their first game of the season, but it has importance. 4. Minnesota Timberwolves vs. San Antonio Spurs This game might turn out to be a dud because it looks as though Kawhi Leonard is not going to play. The intrigue of this game is the new look Minnesota Timberwolves with Jimmy Butler and Jeff Teague joining up with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins. This could also be a chance to see if things are good in San Antonio for LaMarcus Aldridge after airing things out with Gregg Popovich and signing his new contract. The Spurs are still a good team even when missing key players so this will be a test for the Timberwolves. Hope you enjoy the games. Basketball is back and it is exciting. I wrote an article detailing why, in my humble opinion, Rajon Rondo is one of the 20 best point guards of all time and I realized that I needed to sit down and write out this list. Here is 1-5:
5. Steve Nash Nash put together some of the best point guard play of all time in the NBA. He was a 29 year old free agent, who was a big part of some good Dallas teams. He wanted to be paid as such, but the Mavericks had other ideas and he ended up signing with the Suns. Nash was unleashed with the Suns and head coach Mike D'Antoni. The Suns the previous year had won only 29 games with Stephon Marbury as their point guard. Nash's first year ended with the Suns going 62-20. They made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they lost to the Spurs, but on the way they beat Nash's former team. That season Steve Nash would win the first of his back to back MVP Awards. He finished in the top ten of MVP voting six times and showed the difference that a great point guard could make. Nash could've put up more points, but his game was getting his teammates involved and he was a great teammate. Nash was an out of this world shooter and routinely shot over 40% from three. He goes down in history as one of the best point guards ever and someone that paved the way for players like Stephen Curry. He is also one of the funniest players of all time. 4. Isiah Thomas The leader of the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons was one of the best point guards to ever play. He was also Michael Jordan's nemesis. Thomas is remembered for those Pistons teams, his testy relationship with Michael Jordan, and his leading of the walkout by the Detroit Pistons at the end of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals. Just a year before, Thomas had won the Finals MVP award in leading the Pistons to their second championship in a row. Thomas and the Pistons had fought so hard to become champions and were not ready to give it up so they walked out. Despite those instances, Thomas had some amazing moments as a player including how he was willing to lay it all out on the line for his team. In the 1988 Finals that the Pistons would go on to lose, Thomas sprained his ankle badly and stayed in the game putting together an incredible performance. This is a long clip, but worth the watch. This is the stuff that made Thomas so great. He was 1st team All-NBA three times and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times. Thomas was a truly special player. 3. Stephen Curry This is going to be a controversial one. Let me explain. What Stephen Curry has done these last three seasons is unprecedented in the league. He turned into the most dominant offensive weapon that the league may have ever seen. You can argue about Jordan and Kareem, but Curry is the only player that you have to guard everywhere on the court. No other player opens up so much else for his teammates, a big reason for the Warriors success. Curry is not like other point guards that get other teammates involved before looking for their shot, he is a green light player. However, he is different from point guards like Russell Westbrook. Curry understands that he can force up bad shots every now and then, but he is one of the most unselfish superstars the league has ever seen. No other player would transition as smoothly as Curry did welcoming a player like Kevin Durant onto the Warriors. Curry is all about winning and he is only going to get better. You know his resume, two time MVP and the only unanimous MVP. The thing that cracks me up is that players like to go after Curry and say all kinds of things, but those players would not know what to do with Stephen Curry and Curry's Warriors in my opinion destroy any other team in history, I do not care who it is. 2. Jason Kidd Kidd put together everything you wanted from a point guard in the 90's and 00's. He was a great defender and he got his teammates involved. Jason Kidd in his prime was a one man wrecking crew on the court and had the power to transform teams. In 2001, Kidd was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Stephon Marbury. The Nets had won 26 games the previous year and ended up winning 52 games that year on their way to the first of two straight trips to the Finals. Kidd was able to make everyone around him better. Kidd even reinvented himself later in his career. All throughout his career, the joke was that his name should be Ason Kidd because he had no J. He went to Dallas and became a facilitator of the offense and a spot up shooter in addition to providing some steady veteran defense. He captured a title with the old manniest old man team ever, the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Looking back on Kidd's career, he was just such an amazing player to watch. He could pass, rebound, defend, and on occasion he could put up some points, but the important thing is that he made his teammates better like all great point guards do. 1. Magic Johnson Hopefully, there was no doubt that it was going to be Magic as number one. If you do not know about Magic Johnson, then take an hour out of your life and go to youtube. Magic Johnson is one of my favorite all time players because he wanted to win and used his teammates to help him win by getting them good shots. He had the ability to score and he did that in big moments when it was needed, but some of the passes that this guy made as a 6'9 point guard were out of this world. He won a championship with Michigan State in 1979 and won another a year later as a professional for the Los Angeles Lakers when he put up a ridiculous game to clinch the title in 1980. He would go on to war with Larry Bird for league supremacy during the 1980's going to the Finals numerous times. When it was all said and done, Magic had five championships and had re-defined what it meant to play basketball. He was a three time Finals MVP and league MVP. He made All-NBA 1st team nine times and finished in the top 10 for MVP voting ten times. Magic is without a doubt one of the greatest players to ever play and is the best point guard to ever play. I wrote an article detailing why, in my humble opinion, Rajon Rondo is one of the 20 best point guards of all time and I realized that I needed to sit down and write out this list. Here is 6-10:
10. Gary Payton Gary Payton was a one of a kind point guard. He talked a ton of trash, was one of the best defensive players ever, and had an underrated offensive game. Not to mention, one of the coolest nicknames in the history of the NBA, The Glove. Gary Payton was awesome. Check out the highlights. His resume is pretty nice, he finished in the top 10 for MVP voting eight times, two time 1st and 3rd team All-NBA, five time 2nd team All-NBA, nine time 1st team All-NBA Defensive, and the 1996 Defensive Player of the Year. Payton could play. He did so many things to make an impact on the game. He punished guards on the low block and punished them defensively. Some of those Seattle teams with Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp were pretty good. It's amazing that they only made it to the Finals once. Gary Payton would be an interesting player in today's league. I think he might lead the league in technical fouls because of the trash talk, but he would find a way to be effective. Payton does not always get his due, but he is one of the best point guards ever. 9. John Stockton John Stockton was probably the most consistent point guard on this list. You knew what you were going to get each and every night from John Stockton. He looks like the most clean cut guy on the planet, but the stories suggest that he was one of the dirtiest players ever. He has got into it with everyone from Steve Kerr and Michael Jordan to David Robinson. Stockton played to win. He never took more than 12 shots per game in his career and consistently dished out more than 10 assists per game. He is career leader in assists and I am not sure it will ever be topped. Stockton was a great three point shooter and if he was in today's game, I think he would hold his own with the best. Despite not being the greatest athlete in the world, Stockton was a good defender and is the all time leader in steals. Stockton was in the top 10 MVP voting three times, made All-NBA 1st team two times, 2nd team six times, 3rd team three times, and a five time All-NBA Defensive 2nd team selection. Stockton was consistently one of the best point guards in the league for a long time. There were guys that were better than him, but they did not play as well for as long as he did. 8. Oscar Robertson This was a difficult player to place for me. The majority of Oscar Robertson's career took place in the 60's and I am not sure what to make of guys from that era. We all know Robertson's claim to fame is he was the only guy to ever average a triple double in a season until last season when Russell Westbrook did everything in his power to get a triple double every game including only passing for assists and stealing rebounds from his teammates, but I digress. Robertson was a great player in the league and his resume speaks for itself. He was in the top 10 for MVP Voting nine times, winning the MVP once, nine time 1st team All-NBA, and two times 2nd team All-NBA. The knock on Robertson was that he never made his teammates better, but I would say that due to the lack of teams and some giants like Russell's Celtics and Wilt's Sixers, it was difficult for his teams to compete. Robertson goes down as one of the greatest players ever, but for my purposes he only makes it to number 8 on the point guard list. 7. Walt Frazier Frazier gets the nod over Oscar for me because he was on two championship Knicks teams that everyone swears were the most selfless teams ever and he was a monster when it mattered most including a 36 point, 19 assist, and 7 rebound game 7 performance in the 1970 NBA Finals, leading the Knicks to the championship without their center Willis Reed. Frazier finished in the top 10 for MVP voting three times, made the All-NBA 1st team four times, 2nd team two times, and was on the All-NBA Defensive 1st team seven times. Frazier goes down as one of the best point guards to play for his ability to play well when it mattered most and his style. Frazier was a big guard that played great defense and could score in a multitude of ways. He is beloved in New York for his time with the Knicks and that is good enough for me to include him at number 7. 6. Jerry West Jerry West was a great player for the Lakers in the 60's and early 70's and was given the nickname Mr. Clutch even though he had a hard time winning championships with Bill Russell and the Celtics around. West always delivered on his end as a scoring threat that averaged over 30 points per game in the playoffs seven times. He is the only player in history to win Finals MVP that did not win the championship. Jerry West was quite good and he dominated the All-NBA teams of his time making 1st team All-NBA ten times and the 2nd team twice. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting nine times and made the All-NBA Defensive team five times for good measure. West could do it all on the court and won a championship towards the end of his career. There's a reason that Jerry West was the basis for the NBA logo, he was one of the best players/point guards to ever play. I wrote an article detailing why, in my humble opinion, Rajon Rondo is one of the 20 best point guards of all time and I realized that I needed to sit down and write out this list. Here is 11-15:
15. Kevin Johnson Kevin Johnson was an explosive point guard during his time in the NBA. He began his career in Cleveland, but he was traded midway through his second season and became the best point guard to ever play for Phoenix not named Steve Nash. Johnson was a scoring point guard and was extremely efficient as a scorer. He did not shoot many three pointers, but he had one season where he shot 202 three pointers. His other highest three point attempt season was 57. During the 96-97 season he shot 202 three pointers and shot 44% from three. It seems like it could have been a bigger part of his game, but without the three point shot he was a devastating scorer. He had a great three year stretch from 1988-1991, where he helped the Suns to the Conference Finals twice. During that stretch he put up over 20 points and 10 assists per game, while shooting over 49% from the field. That has been done seven times in the history of the league and three of them were done by Kevin Johnson. The other four were Magic Johnson twice, Oscar Robertson, and Chris Paul. Kevin Johnson was a very good player. Johnson made the All-NBA team five times, including the 2nd team four times. He cracked the top 10 in MVP voting twice. He is often left out of conversations about some of the best point guards to ever play and that is a shame. 14. Rajon Rondo I wrote an entire article about why Rondo should be here. You can check it out here. Let me be honest with you. When it comes to Rondo I may have a little bit of a bias because I watched so much of his career. The case to me for Rondo is that he made his teammates better. He did not care about scoring and he did what his team needed him to do to win. He played on some great Celtics teams where the players relied heavily on Rondo to get them shots. He may not have the resume that some of the other players on this list have, but he is one of the 20 best. 13. Tony Parker Tony Parker is a winning point guard. He is not the quickest or the most athletic. He is not the best shooter or the best passer. He is not the best defender, but he is a winner. He contributed in a big way to four championship teams and became the perfect point guard for the San Antonio Spurs. He scored big when they needed it and he showed such improvement in his feel for the game from his rookie season as a 19 year old to being the veteran that he is now. Some will say that Tony Parker was not good, but he just played in a system with Tim Duncan. That is ridiculous. Tony Parker could have put up much better numbers, but his team did not need him to and he wanted to win. It is that simple. Tony Parker is so crafty as a scorer. He shot floaters in the lane, he took layups off of the wrong foot, he somehow would pull spin moves with no space and get the shot up or hit open teammates. He is a great basketball player. He won the 2007 Finals MVP, has finished in the top 10 four times for the MVP award, and has been named to the All-NBA team four times. Parker has had a phenomenal career and will go down as the best French player to ever play and one of the best point guards too. 12. Chauncey Billups Playing point guard is about leading your team and putting them in positions to win. Chauncey Billups never averaged 20 points per game. He never even averaged 9 assists per game, but he is one of the best point guards to ever play. Chauncey Billups started his career with the Celtics, but only appeared in 50 games before they traded him to Toronto. Billups' career seemed to be that of a point guard that was never going to meet expectations, until he was signed by the Detroit Pistons and united with a group that would have one of the best runs of any team in the history of the league including multiple trips to the Conference Finals and one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals History. Chauncey Billups was the Finals MVP in 2004 as he led the Pistons to an upset of the Kobe and Shaq Lakers. He would have great success with those Pistons teams, but nothing lasts forever and in 2008, he was traded to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. He would lead the Nuggets to the Conference Finals, the only time they have gone that far in the playoffs. Billups finished in the top 10 in MVP voting twice and made the All-NBA team three times. Billups could have put up better stats, but in the interest of his team he focused on getting them where they needed to be. He is a true point guard. 11. Chris Paul This is harder for me to write than the ranking for Westbrook. I have a confession, I do not like Chris Paul. As a basketball player, he is the ultimate point guard. He gets to his spots on the floor, is willing to manage the game, and plays some of the best defense that the position has ever seen. But, he always struck me as a dirty player that was willing to do whatever underhanded tactic he could to win and I do not agree with that. It's no wonder that the player willing to do whatever it takes to win, has not won much in his career. Despite his lack of postseason success, there has not been many point guards better than Chris Paul and he will likely move up this list before his time is over. He has had some of the most efficient seasons ever for a point guard and has struck the balance between getting buckets and getting teammates involved. Chris Paul's nickname is the Point God and that may be accurate. Paul should be higher on this list, but I cannot put him in the top 10 because it seems like it may not be fun to play with him and he has been unable to get his teams to the Conference Finals. I wrote an article detailing why, in my humble opinion, Rajon Rondo is one of the 20 best point guards of all time and I realized that I needed to sit down and write out this list. Here is 16-20:
20. Mark Price This video will give you a good idea of Mark Price. Price was a great point guard for the Cavaliers in an era where everyone talks about the Bulls, Knicks, Pistons, and Celtics. He was the best player on some really good Cavalier teams including the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992 and the 2nd round in 1993. Mark Price was eliminated from the playoffs by Michael Jordan and the Bulls four times in six years. Price was an All-NBA player four times and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times. He was a point guard with quickness and the ability to finish in the paint with floaters and good touch, in addition to being one of the best shooters in the history of the game. Mark Price's career was hurt a great deal by injuries, but he was one of the best. 19. Nate "Tiny" Archibald Tiny Archibald played the majority of his career in the 1970's and he is remembered as the only player in history to lead the league in points and assists per game. In 1972-73, he averaged 34 points and 11.4 assists per game. There are two parts to Archibald's career. The first part happened from 1970-1977, where he was a scoring point guard taking 15-20 shots per game on some bad teams. He hurt his knee and missed the entire 1977-78 season and upon his return in 1978-79, he found himself in a different place in his career on the Boston Celtics. Archibald reinvented himself with the Celtics and became more of a traditional point guard that would score when needed. He helped the Celtics win a championship in 1981. In his career, he was a three time 1st team All-NBA player and made the 2nd team twice. He was also in the top 10 in MVP voting five different times. 18. Tim Hardaway I can remember the first time I heard the word crossover was someone telling me about Tim Hardaway. The point guard with the crossover before Allen Iverson came along. Hardaway was a great scoring point guard that could get to the rim and was not above trash talk. He averaged over 20 points per game in three of his first four seasons before a knee injury altered his game. He picked his spots more and become a pretty good three point shooter. Hardaway's early career in Golden State was good, but he played some of his best basketball as a member of the Miami Heat. He joined forces with Alonzo Mourning and was a huge part of some good Miami teams, including getting to the Conference Finals in 1997 before Michael Jordan put them out. Hardaway finished top 10 in MVP voting three times and made the All-NBA team five times, one time on the 1st team. He is remembered for the crossover, but Tim Hardaway was a great point guard in the league that could score, but was also willing to be a distributor. 17. Russell Westbrook This ranking may make some of you stop reading and if that is the case, let me say why. Russell Westbrook is a great player, great. However, he is not the kind of point guard that I value and this is my list. If you want a point guard that is going to keep your team in the place where it needs to be as a unit, Westbrook is not your guy. If you want a point guard to score and keep scoring, then Westbrook is your guy. Also, please save all the stuff about he averaged 10 assists a game, the only thing that proves is that he passed the ball at least 10 times. Westbrook has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times and took home the MVP trophy last season after averaging a triple double. The coming season is going to do a lot for the perception of Westbrook as a point guard. Is he willing to sacrifice shots in order to get his team going offensively or does he play with the mentality that he has to do everything? 16. Dennis Johnson Even though his career ended when I turned six years old, DJ is one of my all time favorite players. He started his career with the Seattle Supersonics, where he played on some very good Sonic teams including the 1979 NBA Champions. Dennis Johnson was the MVP of those Finals averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. He would go on to play for the Phoenix Suns before finding his home as a member of the Boston Celtics. DJ won two more titles with the Celtics and had some incredible moments. Who can forget the steal? Not a lot of people talk about DJ making the layup. To be quite honest, Dennis Johnson does not have great assist numbers or scoring numbers, but he helped his team win as a point guard doing what was needed. He goes down as one of the best defensive point guards of all time making the NBA All-Defensive team nine times, six of which were 1st team. He played better when it mattered and was always ready to do what he had to do to win. He seemed to be one of Larry Bird's favorite teammates and they even had a secret play, I love basketball and I love Dennis Johnson. Disagree with 16-20, let me know about it. You can follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. This is it. We have come to the end of this journey going through one player from each team and the final four are doozies. Let's get to it.
Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving has a lot to prove this season to the people who claim that he is not a superstar or capable of being a leader for a good team. He is going to have a big year for the Celtics. I am also looking forward to all the passive agressive comments this season between him and Lebron. Irving is a shot first point guard, but he did not have to be much of a playmaker for the Cavs. In this Celtics offense, he is going to shoulder some of that burden and I feel that he is going to have his best season. It will be interesting to see the narrative for Irving as the season progresses. If he struggles, he is going to take a beating in the media, but if he shines, he could get MVP love. No matter what happens, I think the trade was a homerun for the Celtics. Houston Rockets Ryan Anderson spent the summer being traded to the New York Knicks by people too eager to get Carmelo Anthony to the Rockets. However, that quickly shifted to the narrative that Anderson has a bad contract and nobody wants to trade for him. Make no mistake, Ryan Anderson has some warts on his game, but he is a very valuable player. He is going to have a big year. Chris Paul has never played with a big man that can shoot the way that Anderson can. Paul and James Harden are going to get Anderson so many open looks. He is not a franchise altering player by any stretch, but Anderson is going to make an impact of the Rockets' success this season. San Antonio Spurs LaMarcus Aldridge is still a member of the Spurs, but that is not because of a lack of effort. The Spurs wanted to move him, but they couldn't. Aldridge is a good player and is still productive, but after his disastrous Western Conference Finals, the feeling seems to be that he is a moody player that is not going to help you win big. I agree to an extent, but this season will be huge for this argument. Aldridge is going to have to have a big year if San Antonio has any aspirations to challenge the Warriors. Kawhi Leonard is really really good at basketball, but no one can win by themselves and Aldridge has to be able to provide that scoring. If he has a big year, all this talk about the Spurs being not great is going to be what is usually is, premature. Golden State Warriors What do you give the team that has everything? Omri Casspi somehow landed on the Warriors for the veteran's minimum and as a Casspi fan, I am excited for him to get to play on a good team. Casspi is a great shooter and a smart player. All summer, there has been a lot of talk about Nick Young, but I feel that Casspi can be an important player off the bench for the Warriors. Players like Casspi are wasted on bad teams. They bring so much to the table that helps you win games and I am looking forward to a good year for Casspi and the opportunity to win. The Warriors had a great summer and Casspi was part of it. Sorry I missed yesterday, but I am back with the second to last players to watch. This list includes the Jazz, Raptors, Clippers, and Cavaliers. Let's get started.
Utah Jazz Ricky Rubio has had an interesting NBA career. He came to the NBA with a lot of hype after his showing in the 2008 Olympics going toe to toe with the Redeem Team as a 17 year old point guard for the Spanish national team. He was drafted in 2009 and waited until the 2011-12 season to make his debut. Since then he has dazzled with his passing and court vision, but the lack of shooting is something that many people have a hard time overlooking. The bottom line is that Ricky Rubio is leaving the Timberwolves, a good offensive team for many seasons and he is taking his playmaking talents to Utah, an elite defensive team without a lot of scoring punch. Despite Rubio's lack of shooting, I see him having a big season with the Jazz. He shot a career high from the field last season and will add some much needed playmaking to the Jazz as they look to replace George Hill and Gordon Hayward. Toronto Raptors Serge Ibaka came to the Raptors in February in a deal that was supposed to help the Raptors get over the hump. In reality, the deal did not seem to do much for the Raptors and Cleveland absolutely embarrassed them. Ibaka did not seem to help much and to be quite honest, he has not looked anywhere near the player that we saw when he was the third man behind Durant and Westbrook. He has become a spot up threat, but he had a rough playoffs shooting only 30% from three and not providing the type of defense that he was known for. The Raptors are being written off by everyone, myself included. The reason being is that I just do not see how they can beat elite teams without offensive consistency. Toronto's struggles go beyond missing shots and Ibaka has to be able to do more to help with that. Having him play small ball 5 in the playoffs did not do much for them against Cleveland, but Ibaka is still a solid player. The Raptors are going to need a lot more from him if they want to avoid going extinct (see what I did there...). Los Angeles Clippers Milos Teodosic had me at hello. By hello, I mean he had after I saw that the Clippers signed him and I found a youtube clip of his majestic passing. He is a great passer and I have to be quite honest, I am not a Chris Paul fan at all. I avoided the Clippers because of him and now that he is gone and they have added Milos, I can see that I am going to be watching a great deal of Clippers games on League Pass. While Milos is an amazing offensive player, there are concerns about his defense. I think that defensive concerns can be overblown in some respects and based on what I saw in the preseason so far, I can say that effort is the biggest part of defense in the NBA and he seems to give effort. Patrick Beverley should provide a nice yin to his yang. It's a shame that they can't fuse Dragonball Z style and make the ultimate point guard. Teodosic should be a lot of fun for the Clippers and I am excited as to the Clippers ceiling this season, I am not sure how good they can be, but they should be fun to watch. Cleveland Cavaliers Kevin Love is going to play the five and start for the Cavaliers without Tristan Thompson for the revamped Cleveland team. Kyrie Irving is gone and there is some doubt whether or not they can return to the Finals for a 4th straight year. I put Kevin Love on this list because I feel that people have forgotten how good of a player he has been in his career. He has served primarily as a spot up threat for the Cavaliers, but Kevin Love can be a guy that you run your offense through. I was hoping that he would show some of that this year without Irving, but Irving has been replaced by the triumvirate of guards that shoot a lot in Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, and Isaiah Thomas. Thomas is out, but when he comes back he is going to shoot. In the meantime Rose and Wade will shoot and I fear that Love is once again going to be marginalized. Without Thompson on the floor though, I think that Love may have more freedom in the Cavs offense and be able to do some of the things that he was doing all those years ago in Minnesota. Kevin Love is a very good player and I hope that this is the year that he reminds everyone. I had originally intended to write about one player from each team, but after some of them have gotten injured and due to being busy writing for quality sites like otgbasketball.com and 94feetreport.com. I am going to be writing a little bit less on this site, but I am going to continue trying to write at least five articles per week. I love writing about the NBA and I will continue to do so. If you have ready anything I have ever written on this site, I appreciate it greatly. So, instead of writing an in-depth look at one player from each team I am going to write a short blurb about a player from four of the remaining 12 teams. Part two and three will come later. Let's get to it.
Memphis Grizzlies Mike Conley Conley seems to finally be getting some of the respect that he deserves. He is one of the best point guards in the league, but he has yet to make an All-Star team due to the amazing depth of guards in the West. Conley may not be at the level of Curry or Paul, but he is close and I have a feeling that he is going to get more attention this year. He has been unleashed by David Fizdale and the Grizzlies are going to need a big year from him in order to compete because the West is pretty good. Atlanta Hawks Kent Bazemore Bazemore had a rough year last season. He struggled mightily on the offensive end. He signed a huge contract and is now on a rebuilding team that I think will be better than people assume. He is going to be needed more on the offensive end for a Hawks team that does not have a great deal of scoring. Bazemore is a good defender and will continue to guard the other team's best guard on a nightly basis. He is going to need to shoot better from three and will need to shoulder more of the offensive burden. The Hawks do not look like a playoff team and they may decide to try to move Bazemore, but that might be difficult with his contract. Oklahoma City Patrick Patterson I had hoped that this was the year that Patterson would get to be a full time starter. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case. However, the Thunder are going to need a big season from Patterson. He will be their 6th man and his shooting and defense is going to be vital to the Thunder's success. Patterson is a team first high character guy that does not seem to worry about his stats, but only about winning. He will help the Thunder do that and without a good year from him, the Thunder will struggle when they rest their stars. Washington Wizards Otto Porter Porter signed a huge deal this summer and the expectations for him are going to be higher for a Wizards team that lost some valuable bench guys without really adding anyone of significance. The Wizards have a win now mindset and Porter is part of their starting five, which was one of the most consistent of last season due to some extreme luck on not having any significant injuries. Porter is a glue guy, but he is going to need to become more of an offensive option to take some of the load off of Beal and Wall. Thon Maker had an interesting rookie season for the Bucks to say the least. He only appeared in 57 games although he was never injured and he only averaged 9.9 minutes per game. However, when it was time for the playoffs he was Milwaukee's starting center in all 6 of their first round games against the Toronto Raptors. The point I am trying to make is that Maker showed something to head coach Jason Kidd over the course of the season and he now appears to be a foundational piece for the Bucks moving forward. Maker's rookie averages are not impressive and a great deal of that is due to the lack on minutes that he got during the season. Maker is an athletic big that runs the floor, finishes in the paint, and has a very nice shooting touch. He was drafted 10th overall by the Bucks in the 2016 NBA Draft and many were surprised he was picked that high, but by season's end many wondered why he lasted so long. Maker really came on strong for the Bucks after the All-Star break and is a nice piece for them moving forward.
Maker's stats are not great, but his playoff stats are interesting because it was intense basketball. In 19 minutes per game, he averaged around 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in addition to 1.8 blocks. He shot the ball decently, although he made only 2 of his 10 three point attempts. He was 10 for 21 from inside the three point line. The biggest breakthrough from the playoffs is that Maker played well for the Bucks. They had two rookies, Malcolm Brogdon and Maker play significant minutes for their team in addition to other good young players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Tony Snell, Jabari Parker, and Greg Monroe. None of those players are over 27 years old. The future is bright in Milwaukee and Maker is going to be a big part of that if he continues to develop. Maker took the majority of his shots at the rim and from behind the three point line. 83 of his 181 shots came from inside the paint and he made 46 of them according to nba.com/stats. Of the remaining 98 shot attempts, 72 were three point attempts. Maker took a lot of threes during his rookie year and he made 38% of them. Most players of his size and athleticism have become rim runners and not many of them have the ability to step out and shoot it like Maker. He can be a huge difference maker for the Bucks if he continues to develop. Many are thinking that this is going to be a big year for Giannis, but I am just as convinced it will be a big one for Thon Maker. Thank you for reading, please follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. This summer, the Pacers traded away Paul George and in return they got Arvydas Sabonis' son and Victor Oladipo. Oladipo has played four seasons since being drafted number two overall in the 2013 Draft. He had three good seasons with the Magic and actually had a good year after being traded to the Thunder for Serge Ibaka. Oladipo's four seasons in the NBA look very similar in many ways and his numbers for his career are solid for a starting two guard in the NBA. In his career, he has averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He has played 33.2 minutes per game in his career. Oladipo has been pretty consistent in his play and that is great news for Pacers fans, but they are going to need more from Oladipo to be anywhere near the team they were last year.
Last year, Oladipo become more of a spot up shooter due to playing with Russell Westbrook. Oladipo actually delivered, making a career high percentage from the three point line at 36% and setting career highs in three point attempts and makes. Oladipo can be a good spot up player, but his strengths are in his all around game and his ability to get to the rim. He shot a career low percentage of his two point shots at the rim at just under 27%. He made the most of his opportunities and he had a career high field goal percentage at the rim at over 60%. Oladipo took advantage of the shots he got last year and that is a good sign for him moving forward. Oladipo's percentage of offensive possessions are very similar when looking at last season with the Thunder and his last season with the Magic. He ran less pick and roll last year with the Thunder, but he was within one possession per game of his last season with the Magic. In addition, he was in spot up situations more in Oklahoma City, but again it was not a huge difference. The feeling I get is that the Pacers are going to ask him to do a great deal for them on offense. Four of Indiana's top six scorers from last season are no longer on their team so they are going to need people to score. Oladipo has an opportunity to have a great season. He is going to get the chance to shoot and make plays. Oladipo is locked up in Indiana for the next four years at 21 million per year. If he struggles, the Pacers are not going to be good and will not have a great deal of roster flexibility to get good. They are going to rely a great deal on Oladipo and the hopeful development of Myles Turner to win games. Without those two, they could be one of the worst teams in the league. Thanks for reading, follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. To say that Kris Dunn did not have a good rookie season might be an understatement. After being picked with the 5th pick in the 2016 Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dunn appeared in 78 games. He played 17 minutes per game averaging 3.8 points with 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds. He shot 37% from the field including 28% from three. He was not great. After his disappointing rookie season, the Wolves did not hesitate when the Bulls requested that he be involved in the deal for Jimmy Butler. The trade could be the best thing that happens to Kris Dunn's career. He is going from a team with high expectations and Jeff Teague playing the point guard position to a team that will be lucky to win 25 games. He is going to get the chance to play and hopefully develop. Kris Dunn is going to get the chance to prove himself in the NBA and that is all players can really ask for.
Kris Dunn is somewhat older than the average top 5 picks these days, he is going to be 24 next March. It does not matter in terms of how good he can be, but it will make a difference to how much time the Bulls may give him to develop. Dunn is a bigger point guard. He is listed at 6'4 and according to DraftExpress he has a 6'9 wingspan. He was touted as a defensive stopper at the point guard position and shot the ball well during his junior and senior years at Providence, where he shot above 35% from three. Needless to say, what happened during Dunn's rookie season could be a fluke and the Bulls may have just picked up a steal, but the Timberwolves would re-do that deal 100 times out of 100. When you look at Dunn's Synergy Playtype stats, you can see that the majority of his offensive possessions happened in pick and rolls as a ball handler, in transition, and as a spot up player. He was not great in any of them and rated out badly in some. Looking at Kris Dunn, he could be a bust. However, there is a track record of point guards needing time to get their footing in the league. Dunn is going to get chances with the Bulls and I feel that he is going to be better. He is competing for starter's minutes with Jerian Grant and it will be interesting to see what head coach Fred Hoiberg decides to do. Dunn needs to have a better season because if he has the season that he had last year, he may be out of the league in a few years. The Bulls have no expectations for the season so they can take a chance on Dunn to see if he can turn into a good point guard. All stats courtesy of basketball-reference.com. Thank you for reading, follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. The Portland Trail Blazers are in a tough spot. The rest of the Western Conference seemed to get better and add pieces while they got rid of Allen Crabbe in a salary dump. They are bringing back the same team from last year without their top bench player in Crabbe. That team finished 41-41 making the playoffs as the 8th seed that did not do well against the Warriors. Despite all of this, the Trail Blazers have some optimism in the form of Jusuf Nurkic. They acquired Nurkic on February 13th and in the 20 games that he played for them, they went 14-6 looking like a team that had found something they had been lacking. Nurkic played the best basketball of his career in those 20 games for the Blazers and there is worry that he might not be able to keep that up for a whole season. His 20 games averages were 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. He shot over 50% from the field and unleashed the ability to make plays for others that he did not really show in his time with the Nuggets. In almost 2500 minutes in Denver he had 150 assists compared to 63 in 500 minutes with the Trail Blazers. Needless to say, the Nuggets must've been confused when they saw Nurkic play with Portland wondering where this guy had been for them. It is very difficult to get an idea of what to expect from Nurkic this season. It is a huge year for him in terms of contract negotiations. If he gets an extension before the start of the season then the Blazers can lock him up, but if they allow him to play out his current contract, he will become a restricted free agent next season. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
The Trail Blazers are set for the next few years with their team. They are going to need quite a few guys to step up. If they can count on Nurkic to become a great player to go with the greatness of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum they might be able to contend for a playoff spot. They need Nurkic's skill set and ability to score in the post for them. Any player that can take attention from Lillard and McCollum is good. This is a very big season for Nurkic. If he turns out to be a 20 game wonder for the Blazers, they are in trouble. The track record of his time in Denver is not great. He showed glimpses in Denver, but there was always talk of poor conditioning for him and when the Nuggets decided to go with Nikola Jokic as the starter, Nurkic did not do much off the bench. These concerns may turn out to be minor footnotes as he becomes a bright young star for the Blazers, but it is not a certainty that he can keep up this type of play. The Blazers really need him. A great thing about Basketball Reference is that under the names of players you can see their various nicknames. For some, it's ones that you know like Lebron James' page has King as one of his nicknames. If you find yourself staring at Dion Waiters' page you will see four nicknames. They are Downhill Dion, Google Me, Headache, and Kobe Wade. I am not sure what to say after that, but Kobe Wade was apparently what he told his college teammates to call him. Downhill Dion is solid, Google Me is fantastic, and Headache seems to fit more than the others. Dion Waiters was the fourth pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Syracuse University. At the time, many questioned the selection by the Cavaliers because Waiters had not started for his college team and seemed to be a player that would not fit with Kyrie Irving, whom they had drafted the year before. There are no take backs on draft night and Dion Waiters joined the Cavs and Irving. He played two and a half seasons with the Cavs and took a lot of shots and lost a lot of games. He averaged over 14 points per game his first two seasons, but he shot under 44% from the field in both of those seasons including 31% and 36% from three. Everything changed after his second season because the Cavs welcomed back Lebron James and it was time for Kyrie and Dion to go to school and learn how to win. Dion Waiters lasted 33 games before GM Lebron decided to trade Dion away in a deal that brought Cleveland JR Smith and Iman Shumpert and sent Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City. Waiters did well in Oklahoma City, but the Thunder decided to let him leave via free agency. It seemed as if Dion Waiters might be out of the league, but like so many before him Dion ended up with the Miami Heat and had a great season.
In terms of offense, Waiters is a throw back in many ways. He is an isolation heavy two guard that likes to take a lot of shots in the mid range. It is no coincidence that he had his best season and averaged career lows in number of shots between three feet and the three point line. Waiters took almost 67% of his shots at the rim and from the three point line. He shot decently at the rim, but he shoot a career best from three, with almost 40%. It will be interesting to see if Waiters can replicate that success from three this year. Without the three point shot falling, Waiters may not be a great player to have on the floor. He re-signed with Miami this summer and Waiters and the Heat have a great deal of confidence that he can help them get back to the playoffs and be a tough out for one of the top four East teams. The Heat do not really have any players as dynamic as Waiters. As much as I do dislike his game sometimes, Waiters has a knack of getting to the rim and he can make difficult shots. The Heat have had success with Waiters because they have helped him realize that he needs to shoot more threes and not take too many shots away from the rim. Although not a great defender in Cleveland, Waiters is playing hard and defending for Miami. Waiters has a chance to be very good for the Heat. If he has a great season, I could see the Heat as the five or six seed in the East with a legitimate chance to upset someone in the playoffs. If he struggles, the Heat might have trouble getting into the playoffs. To have your franchise's fate rest with Dion Waiters aka Google Me aka Headache aka Downhill Dion aka Kobe Wade is a scary thought, but Miami is a strange place. If you are active on NBA Twitter, then Gary Harris ranks somewhere ahead of Kobe and just a little behind MJ among shooting guards all time. All kidding aside, Gary Harris is a very good basketball player and NBA rumors suggest that the Nuggets were not willing to give him up in deals that could have landed them bonafide superstars in the NBA. The truth is that the Nuggets might be right in holding onto Harris. Harris is 23 years old and is coming off the best season of his three year career. Although he had such a great year, the expectations for his 4th year are off the chart. Last season, Harris averaged 15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in 31 minutes per game. He shot 50% from the field including 42% from three. His ability to shoot the ball makes him a valuable player to have in today's NBA. He is also blessed to be a guard on a team with big men that can pass. Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, and even Mason Plumlee are going to get Harris more easy buckets.
Offensively, Harris is a very good player and he is also good as a defender. He is very active defensively and gets into passing lanes. He plays very hard on the defensive end, which is always extremely valuable. Harris defends the pick and roll well and when his defensive partner is Nikola Jokic it can be difficult to keep defenders from scoring. The Nuggets tended to have Jokic drop back deep on pick and rolls allowing guards to shoot uncontested mid range jumpers. They should be a better defensive team with Millsap joining them and Harris will definitely contribute to that as well. Harris has looked good so far in preseason for the Nuggets. In their second preseason game, Harris exploded for 25 points against the Lakers and looked good finishing at the rim and shooting in space. He is a smart player and knows how to play the game. The only knock on Harris is that he does have trouble getting his own shot and relies a great deal on others to set him up and deliver the ball to him. The Nuggets do not really have a traditional point guard, but Jokic has a great deal of control of the offense. He is the centerpiece of it. Gary Harris is a big part of what they do, but he is reliant on others. According to nba.com/stats, Gary Harris made 320 field goals last year and Jokic assisted him on 81 of those field goals. This season will be a huge one for his development. It will be interesting to see if head coach Mike Malone allows Harris to be more of a playmaker and run more pick and rolls or allow him to facilitate the offense more. Harris is eligible for an extension before the season begins and the rumors are that the Nuggets and Harris are close to an agreement. Harris will not be cheap and the clock is ticking for the Nuggets to get better. They have Millsap and Jokic alongside Jamal Murray and Harris. They are going to need some development from the three young guys to get Denver where they want to be. Part of that is to get Gary Harris more comfortable with the ball and allowing Jokic to pick and choose his spots more. Thanks for reading, please follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. Stan Van Gundy has been in control of the Pistons for three seasons and during that time he has made the playoffs once and made some big changes to the roster. He traded for Reggie Jackson, waived Josh Smith, allowed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to leave, and traded for Avery Bradley. These are just a few of the moves, but to me the one that was unheralded and has helped the Pistons was the trade for Tobias Harris. Harris is a player that does many things very well, but does not do anything great. Tobias Harris does not do anything that is going to hurt your team, but he is not going to win a great deal of games for you either. Last year was a strange one for Harris, he played in all 82 games, but Van Gundy experimented with him coming off the bench in 34 games. He still averaged over 30 minutes per game and put up some good numbers including 16 points and 5 rebounds per game. Harris did this while shooting 48%, including 35% from three. They are not really overwhelming stats, but let's look more closely at what Harris does on the court.
Thanks to basketball-reference.com's shooting stats, we can see that Tobias Harris attempted a career high percentage of his shots from three at 29.5%. He is becoming more of a volume shooter and although it may seem low, 35% is not a bad percentage from three. The remaining 70.5% of his shots came inside the three point line and he shot a career low percentage of his shots at the rim at 20%. He made over 70% of his shots at the rim, which is quite good. Harris is a good mid-range shooter, but ideally you want to see more shots at the rim. When you look at his Synergy playtype stats, you can see that Harris rates out really well in the majority of them. In transition possessions, which made up 13.7% of his offensive possessions, he rated in the 83rd percentile. He only had two of these possessions per game, but he made the most of them averaging 1.3 points per possession. As a pick and roll ball handler, Harris rated out in the 87th percentile. Harris averaged 0.98 points per possession out of these pick and rolls, but he does not get to run them often, they made up only 10% of his offensive possessions. Harris got most of his possessions as a spot up player, with over 28% of his possessions. He rated out well in the 73rd percentile. He averaged 1.07 points per possession. As a post up threat, Harris rated in the 86th percentile on only 1.4 possessions per game. He scored 1.03 points per possession in the post. Looking at this efficiency and these numbers, it is hard to see Tobias Harris reaching his full potential on this Pistons team. He is not going to get opportunities to post with Andre Drummond on the floor and he will not be running a lot of pick and rolls with Reggie Jackson on the floor. Harris is relegated to a spot up player and although he rated out well, he needs more opportunities to make plays with the ball. Harris' assist numbers have never been high, but he can pass the ball and find teammates. The additions of Langston Galloway and Avery Bradley should help in this regard because both of them are more suited to being spot up players, which may give more opportunity for Harris to operate in space on the floor. It is unclear whether or not Harris will start. He seems more suited to being a 6th man that plays a good deal of minutes for you. Being able to run the 2nd unit offensively could be the perfect role for Harris. The Pistons have a lot of questions that they have to answer this season. They have some major roster decisions to make. Harris is under contract for two more seasons and he should definitely be part of their future plans. Nicolas Batum is a versatile wing. He is 6'8 with a wingspan of someone that is almost 7'4. He can dribble, he can pass, and he shoots it well enough. He is also extremely vital to the success of the Charlotte Hornets. Kemba Walker had an amazing season last year, but the Hornets could not translate that to team success. They missed the playoffs and are looking to rebound from a disappointing season. They added Dwight Howard in the offseason and there are a lot of questions as to how he could help or hurt the Hornets. The Hornets will most likely keep that starting lineup from last season with the addition of Dwight Howard in place of Cody Zeller. Howard, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Batum, and Walker is a good starting lineup and a lot of their success will depend on the success of Howard and Walker pick and rolls. Williams is a good shooter from deep and MKG is a vital defensive presence. Batum's role on this team is a glue guy. He does whatever the team needs him to do. He gets rebounds, assists, scores, and plays solid defense. This is going to be his 10th season in the NBA and if the Hornets are going to make some noise in the East, they are going to need him to play well. Last season, Batum averaged career highs in points and assists. He actually led the team in assists and is a vital playmaker for the team. Kemba Walker does get assists, but with his long arms and vision Batum is a huge help to the Hornets' offense.
While last season was a good one for Batum, he did struggle somewhat shooting the ball with a field goal percentage of just over 40% and shooting 33% from three. He has a lot of responsibility in the Charlotte offense and this season could show the team relying on him even more. Fortunately, the Hornets drafted Malik Monk from Kentucky, who looks like a player that will help give them some more scoring off the bench. The team will still need Batum's playmaking when Walker sits. The backup point guard spot seems to be filled by Michael Carter-Williams and due to his lack of shooting he can be a detriment to your offense. Steve Clifford has some interesting decisions to make when it comes to his bench and it will be interesting to see how he chooses to play Batum and Walker. Batum as an offensive player was at his best in post up and spot up situations. As a post up threat, Batum uses his size to shoot and pass over defenders. According to Synergy, he scored 0.96 points per possession as a post up player, ranking in the 75th percentile. Batum is not a volume scorer, but he can put up points on certain nights. Last season, he scored in the 20's in 14 games and in the 30's in 2 games. Post ups are not a huge part of the Hornets offensive playbook, but with Howard coming in that might change. Batum also rates well as a spot up threat. He rated in the 75th percentile, scoring 1.10 points per possession. Batum is not a great three point shooter. He is more streaky than anything else, but his career average is 35% and last season he was at 33%. There is no reason to believe that he will not shoot it a little better this season. He can get hot and even made 8 three point shots against the Clippers last season. Batum also gets a lot of possessions as a pick and roll ball handler. He was not great in the pick and roll, ranking in the 17th percentile. Batum is not a dynamic off the bounce player like Kemba Walker. Batum's game is more suited to playmaking off the catch as opposed to creating off the dribble. Nicolas Batum is locked up with the Hornets for the next four seasons with a pretty big contract. His first two seasons in Charlotte have been two of his best in the NBA. He is a big part of the Hornets team moving forward. He is a perfect compliment to Kemba Walker and is a guy that does not seem to care about stats, just making the right play. Batum is an underrated player in my view. He does so much for his team that helps you win and does little to hurt your team's chances at winning. This is a big year for the Hornets and a great deal of whether or not they succeed is on Nicolas Batum. Can he deliver another good season for the Hornets? We will find out. Thank you for reading, please follow me on twitter @dennisdownba. All stats courtesy of nba.com/stats and basketball-reference.com unless otherwise mentioned. This summer, the Pelicans decided to re-sign Jrue Holiday to a rather large extension. He signed a 5 year 126 million dollar deal this summer that could be worth up to 150 million with incentives according to basketball-reference.com. There was a great deal of argument this summer on whether the Pelicans should re-sign Holiday due to the huge amount of money he was going to want. In reality, the Pelicans did not have much of a choice to re-sign him. I do not really mind re-signing Holiday even at that price. He is good enough to warrant that and for a point guard he is versatile with the ability to defend multiple positions and he can play off ball. The biggest knock on Holiday is that he has trouble staying healthy. In his four seasons in New Orleans he has played in 206 out of 328 games. The last two seasons he has played in 65 and 67 games, which is a good sign for him and the Pelicans. The other good news is that although the Pelicans did have some struggles after adding DeMarcus Cousins, the Pelicans posted some good net point totals in lineups that featured Holiday alongside Cousins and Anthony Davis.
Holiday had a good season averaging 15 points and 8 assists per game shooting 45% from the field and 35% from the three point line. He takes the majority of his shots at the rim and from the 3 point line. He shoots well at the rim and has a decent mid range game. The thing to like about Jrue Holiday is that he does not force his offense and takes good shots. He gets to the rim and gets a lot of assists by drawing the defense and kicking out to shooters. His playmaking opportunities took a hit after the Cousins trade. Cousins likes to sometimes bring the ball up and run things from the top of the key. Despite that, Holiday still averaged 7 assists per game after the Cousins trade. With the addition of Rajon Rondo this offseason, Holiday may take more of a hit to his playmaking opportunities. He can still be effective, but Holiday seems to be at his best when he has the ball. In terms of his playtype statistics on Synergy, Holiday's offensive possessions were mostly made up of pick and rolls. 50% of his offensive possessions were in the pick and roll. He rated out decently in the 55th percentile. Among the 15 players in the NBA with at least 8 pick and rolls per game, he was the worst. Holiday rated out very well in isolation situations and with his size he is able to take advantage of smaller point guards. He scored 1.05 points per possession in isolations, good enough to be in the 88th percentile. As a spot up threat Holiday is not great, but he is serviceable. He shoots the three well enough, although according to nba.com/stats he shot better when pulling up off the dribble as opposed to catching and shooting. Offensively, Holiday has a lot of skills that make him a very good basketball player, but it is hard to see how they fit with what the Pelicans are doing. He is good with the ball in his hands, but Cousins likes to be the facilitator on offense. He is not a great spot up player, but with the addition of Rondo, he might have loads of minutes as a spot up player. Defensively, Holiday has the ability to guard 1-3 depending on the matchup. He has long arms and he is quick enough to stay with point guards and strong enough to stick 3's. The Pelicans may have trouble scoring, but they have some good defenders on the roster. Holiday may have minutes playing with Tony Allen. Although Allen is older, he can still get into guys. Holiday defends the pick and roll well and he is a monster one on one defender. He brings a great deal to the table defensively and the Pelicans should be able to continue with their defensive prowess of last season, where they rated out as the 9th best defense according to defensive rating. Jrue Holiday is a good player, but he does not seem to fit with this Pelicans team. He is a good point guard to have on your team and he provides you with solid offense and good defense. He is not a lights out shooter, but he can make plays and get to the rim. He is a steady point guard that does not take many bad shots. He is also making 25 million dollars a year this season and it will be tough to move him if it does not work out. I am not sure what to make of the Pelicans, but moving forward they have to find players that can fit with Jrue Holiday if he is going to reach his full potential with the team. With the signings of Rajon Rondo and Tony Allen this offseason, the Pelicans have assembled a back court that does not possess one knockdown shooter. Rondo and Holiday both need the ball and Allen is not an ideal player to pair with non shooting guards. If the Pelicans allow Cousins to facilitate from the top of the key you are not spacing the floor with any pairing of Rondo, Holiday, or Allen. I am just not sure how this works. Holiday is good and he could be much better if given the chance to play with teammates that fit with his strengths and help hide his weaknesses, but so would every player in the league. Seth Curry had a much different road to success in the NBA than his brother, the two time MVP Stephen Curry. After a rough road, Seth Curry is now ready to build on what he accomplished last year and score a lucrative contract in the offseason. The Dallas Mavericks are Seth Curry's 5th team in his four year career and it seems to be the one where he has found a home. He played in more games with the Mavericks last season than his other previous 3 years combined and he actually started in 42 of the 70 games that he played last season. Seth Curry played very well for Dallas last season averaging over 12 points per game in only 30 minutes per game. He provided shooting and solid guard play for a Mavericks team that had a rough season. He shot over 42% from three and showed that given the chance to get minutes he can help your team. Curry is a great shooter, but he is not a great athlete and he is not the force of nature that his brother is on the offensive end. That should not be held against him because he is a very good player to have. Curry has a nice touch and he is a willing passer that does not force shots. He tries hard defensively, but he is not a great defender.
Digging deeper into Seth Curry as an offensive player and you can see that he will have a long career in the NBA. In terms of play types, Seth Curry rates out very well in all of them. 33% of Seth Curry's possessions were as a pick and roll ball handler and he rated in the 88th percentile. He is not a great passer, but he is willing to find the open man and due to his shooting ability you cannot go under the pick. Curry is willing to drive it into the lane, he has a nice floater that he unleashes when given the chance. Obviously, as a spot up threat Curry rates out very well. He was in the 82nd percentile. He has to be guarded at all times, which allows teammates to have driving lanes. While Curry does not have the individual moves that allow his brother to be one of the best in the league, Seth is able to do damage in isolation. He rated out in the 93rd percentile averaging 1.09 points per possession. He is a smart player that understands what he does well and what he does not do well. He possesses some quickness, but as mentioned above, he is not an elite athlete. Coming off screens also served Curry well. He was in the 94th percentile among NBA players and is deadly coming off screens. He scored 1.24 points per possession. Although I continue to mention his brother, Seth Curry is a great player irregardless of who his brother may be. He can shoot and he has needed the opportunity to get minutes. Unfortunately, this is where he becomes difficult to gauge. In 29 minutes per game he played very well for the Mavericks. He played a lot off ball alongside Yogi Ferrell and seemed to play well whether he was the lone ball handler or if he was paired with a point guard. He is somewhat undersized at 6'2, but it does not seem to be an issue for his success offensively. There are not many matchups in the league that will cause problems for him every possession. The Mavericks drafted a point guard in the draft and are bringing back the majority of the guards from last year's team meaning that Seth Curry might not get the minutes he needs to be successful. On the other hand, the reports of Dennis Smith Jr. as a dynamic play maker could lead to Curry get open three pointers, which usually work out for his team. Curry will be a coveted free agent next summer and it will be interesting to see what the Mavericks do in terms of offering him a lucrative deal or allowing him to exit. I would like to see him get the opportunity to play big minutes and see if he can be a great player in the NBA. Growing up in Kentucky and being a UK fan at one time means that I know quite a few Kentucky fans and there was one name I heard a great deal during the 2015-16 college basketball season and it was Skal Labissiere. It was usually followed by a not nice comment about his lack of rebounding or lack of toughness or lack of something else that he was supposed to have as the number 2 recruit in the class of 2015 behind Ben Simmons. Skal averaged 6.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. To say he did not live up to expectations is an understatement. After a dismal college season he decided to turn pro anyways and he was drafted in the 1st round at pick number 28 to the Phoenix Suns, who immediately traded him to the Sacramento Kings. Skal did not do much in the first half of the season collecting 49 inactive/did not play games out of the first 56 games. All of that changed after the DeMarcus Cousins trade and the youth movement was on in Sacramento. Skal played in the remaining 26 games and had some breakout moments. Looking at his averages, his rookie year was not great. He averaged 8.8 points to go along with 5 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. He shot 54% from the field during his limited time and looks to be a nice big for the Kings moving forward.
While I do not always like per 36 stats, Skal's are pretty good. He averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He had a monster game against the Phoenix Suns putting up 32 and 11 while shooting 73% from the field including making a 3 pointer. He has great potential and I think he was a steal with the 28th pick. Digging into the stats amongst the various playtypes courtesy of nba.com/stats, you can see that the majority of Skal's offensive possessions came as a roll man in the pick and roll, in post ups, and in spot ups. Let's start with the pick and rolls. As a roll man, Skal has quickness and he has the ability to finish around the rim. He does not seem to be afraid to get fouled and he shoots 70% from the foul line. He is still figuring out the nuances of pick and roll play. He rated out in the 20th percentile as a roll man, which is not good, but there is a lot of things to be excited about. As a post up presence, Skal has some moves to get himself some good looks. He can finish with either hand and although he lacks the strength to go through people, he is long and athletic enough to go over and around. He rated out in the 77th percentile in the NBA. In spot up situations, Skal really shined. He rated out in the 93rd percentile in the league. He has a great mid range shot and finds himself spotted up on the baseline a lot. While he only shot 40% from 3-10 feet, move him out from 10 feet and his field goal percentage shoots up to 52% from 10-16 feet and even better at 58% from 16 feet to the three point line. He has a very nice touch and he is quick to get around bigger forwards that come to guard his mid range game. Skal also displayed the ability to hit the three pointer making 3 of his 8 attempts and it is something that he could become quite good at if he becomes a volume shooter. The bottom line is that Skal's skill set is a stretch big that can play inside. He is athletic, skilled, and he has length. He has a ways to go offensively and defensively, but the potential is off the charts for him. The Kings have signed some veteran players that could help him get better. While I do not see the Kings as a great team, they should be much improved. Skal is going to be a big part of their future. Anyone that can score 21 points in the 4th quarter of an NBA game (vs. Phoenix, 03/15/2017) in their rookie season has potential. While Skal was not appreciated for what he was at UK, the NBA will come to appreciate his skill set. I see a big season from Skal and I see years from now the league saying that Skal was a steal for the 28th pick. Well it's official, the Carmelo Anthony era in New York is over and what is left is a team with some young players that are going to get an opportunity to play major minutes and try to fill the hole left by Carmelo's departure. This summer was a strange one for the Knicks, before acquiring Enes Kanter and Doug McDermott for Carmelo, the Knicks signed Tim Hardaway Jr. to a large contract that will pay him 71 million dollars over four seasons. At the time many could not believe that they had committed so much to Hardaway. After all, he was a member of the Knicks when they drafted him 24th overall in 2013. He played two full seasons with the Knicks and then was traded to Atlanta where he showed some signs of being a good NBA player. This summer he signed the offer sheet with the Knicks and the Hawks decided not to match, which can mean that they did not think Hardaway was that valuable or they are committed to a rebuild and do not want to take on contracts of that size. Let's look at Hardaway and what he might be able to do in the upcoming season.
This past season Hardaway averaged career highs in points, rebounds, minutes, assists, field goal attempts, and field goal percentage. He really got a great opportunity with the Hawks and he made the most of it. Offensively, Hardaway can score. He had 23 games where he scored more than 20 points according to Basketball Reference including a 36 point game against Cleveland and a 33 point game against Houston. He also shot well from deep shooting 35% from three. He does not take a great deal of mid range shots and he finishes well near the rim. According to Basketball Reference, 45% of Hardaway's field goal attempts were three point shots. In terms of playtype stats, Hardaway rates out very well as a cutter and as a spot up player. Cuts only made up 5% of his offensive possessions, but he rated in the 88th percentile. In spot ups, Hardaway rated in the 85th percentile and spots up made up 24% of his offensive possessions. Although Hardaway is not a great three point shooter, he shows decisiveness when he gets the ball and he is quick to drive, shoot, or continue moving the ball. Hardaway's other highest offensive possession numbers came via transition opportunities and as a pick and roll ball handler. Hardaway rates out as one of the better transition players in the league and he will get a chance to run more with the Knicks. Hornacek during his time in Phoenix had teams that were in the top 10 in pace, but due to personnel the Knicks were at 17th. Something tells me that with Phil Jackson now gone, the Knicks will get out and run more, which suits Hardaway. As a pick and roll player Hardaway did not do it very often and when he did he was not that effective. He moves the ball and can make the pass that he needs, but he is not an elite pick and roll player. The initial reaction to the Hardaway signing was bad. However, thinking about the type of player that Hardaway could be, it is not crazy to me to pay him that much. I went into some detail about his offensive capabilities, but Hardaway is a good defender that plays hard on defense. He is a two way wing that is a solid rotation player for any team. With Carmelo Anthony now gone, the Knicks are going to need wing scoring and Hardaway could surprise with the season that he could have. I do not think it would be crazy to see him average 20 points per game. He only shot 11.5 attempts per game and it is not crazy to think that if he gets 15 shots per game that he could up his scoring average by five points. The bottom line is that he will get an opportunity with the Knicks and I think he will make the most of it. The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a huge summer. They traded for Jimmy Butler, traded for Jimmy Butler, signed Taj Gibson, traded for Jimmy Butler, are going to sign Andrew Wiggins to a max deal, traded for Jimmy Butler, and traded for Jimmy Butler. An under the radar signing was the signing of free agent point guard Jeff Teague. The Timberwolves signed him to a 3 year, 57 million dollar deal in a move that completed what many consider their starting five now of Teague, Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns, Gibson, and Wiggins. Teague is a good point guard and there is going to be a big burden on his shoulders to play more off ball to allow Butler to be a playmaker for the Wolves and Teague is going to need to shoot it well from deep to ensure spacing for Towns, Wiggins, and Butler to operate.
Let's start there. Jeff Teague is a career 35% three point shooter although he had an amazing 40% season in 2015-16. He also does not seem to mind taking a backseat on the team as evidenced by his success with those great Hawks teams and also last season with Paul George. He is a solid point guard that can do lots of good things for your team. He was great offensively with Indiana last season averaging career highs in assists and free throw attempts while averaging 15 points a game on 11 shots per game. He seems to be a good fit for the Wolves in that he does not need the ball a great deal to be successful. He plays hard defensively, but as seen in the Cavaliers series he can hurt you defensively in the wrong matchup. The Cavaliers kept going to those Kyrie and Lebron pick and rolls, which left poor Teague matched up with Lebron and he had no chance. When you dig deeper you can get a better picture of what Teague can do for your team. 28 players averaged over six pick and roll possessions per game and of those 28, Jeff Teague rates very well. His pick and rolls led to points more frequently than all of the players except for four and he scored 0.98 points per possession out of the pick and roll. As a pick and roll partner for Karl-Anthony Towns, Teague may not be the passer that Ricky Rubio was, but he is a much better shooter and more of a scorer. He is a great pick and roll player that can keep defenses honest on the pick and roll and not allow defenders to leave him open or he will make them pay. As an isolation player, Teague rated out quite well scoring 1.02 points per possession and rating out in the 84th percentile among all players. Teague uses his quickness well and although he is a smaller guard, he finishes well when he gets there. He also has a nice mid range jumper. It is hard what to make of Teague's fit with Jimmy Butler. Paul George did not run the pick and roll often preferring to play more of a spot up role, but Butler runs a lot of pick and rolls. As a matter of fact, he ran more last season than Teague. It will be interesting to see how he plays next to a player like Butler and if he becomes more of an off-ball player for the Wolves. Teague will help the team and I see him as someone that can improve the play of Andrew Wiggins and Towns through his pick and roll skill set and his underrated ability to pass the ball. Aaron Gordon just completed his 3rd season in the NBA and we still do not know much about his future in the NBA. Is he a power forward? Can he play on the wing? It's hard to answer these questions. There are some things that we know. Aaron Gordon is an amazing athlete with the ability to finish at the rim. He is a good defender and plays hard for a Magic team that has not been very good, winning only 89 games in three seasons. The Magic do not really seem to have a plan as they move through the labyrinth that is trying to rebuild. They went from making the Finals and Eastern Conference Finals in back to back years to now being in a drought from 2012-13 that has seen them win under 30 games in four of the last five seasons. These seasons have netted them various draft picks, but a lot of those players have not really met expectations. Aaron Gordon is one of those players. He is good for what he does well, but there are some issues with his game.
Offensively speaking, Gordon is not a great shooter. That is putting it lightly. While shooting 53% on two point field goal attempts, Gordon was awful from three. He shot 29% on over 3 attempts per game. Using Basketball Reference's handy dandy season finder, it was done last season by Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart. It is not only that Gordon shoots so many three pointers it is that he takes some bad shots during the course of games. He takes contested three pointers and seems to shoot them with the confidence of someone shooting a much higher percentage. In spot up situations Gordon finished in the 17th percentile in the NBA averaging an awful 0.79 points per possession. Spots made up 22% of his possessions and that means he is not helping his team in those possessions. Post up situations also do not look kindly on Aaron Gordon and he finished in the 25th percentile averaging 0.79 points per possession. In almost every offensive category, Gordon does not rate out well except for cuts. As a cutter, I would say that Aaron Gordon is elite. He makes use of open space and his quickness and athleticism allow him to get to spaces and receive passes that he can finish quickly. Defensively, Aaron Gordon rates out well in all categories, but there is some room for him to grow. The problem with evaluating a player's individual defense is that a lot of it can be affected by the team that they play on. A team full of good defenders will help individuals look better in defensive ratings as opposed to a team full of bad defenders. The greatest thing you can see for Gordon as I said above is that he plays hard and that is most important with defense. Gordon is the type of player that could help you defend a team like the Warriors. He has good size, quickness, and he is very athletic allowing him to cover any mistakes that he may make. As a defender, he does have a tendency to get baited into fouls, but this is something that can be corrected. After all, he is only 22 years old. Overall, the debate of what to do with Aaron Gordon is one that can be applied to a lot of players in the NBA. Gordon cannot shoot, but neither can Marcus Smart or Anthony Roberson, but they are important players on playoff teams. There is no reason that Gordon cannot be just as effective as they are on a winning team. The Magic have a coach in Frank Vogel that did very well in Indiana, but he is going to need more players. I am not sure if the Magic have the right personnel to suit the things that their coach wants to do. Put Gordon on the floor with shooters and you can hide his deficiencies, but put him on the floor with Bismack Biyombo and Elfrid Payton and he is going to hurt your spacing along with those 2. As mentioned above, he is a great cutter. He has to be able to improve his shooting in order to become a better player overall. Right now, he is an athletic non shooter that plays very hard. He can be elite defensively and he is a good cutter, but those traits are wasted when you play for a bad team. It will be interesting to see how the Magic can improve this season or if it is more of the same. Aaron Gordon could absolutely be a player that helps you win. This will be his fourth season and at the end of it he will be a restricted free agent. He will have suitors, but I am sure that the Magic will match because they can also see his value as a player. This is a big season for Gordon and the Magic. Thank you for reading, follow me on twitter, @dennisdownba. All three of the players that I have profiled so far, D'Angelo Russell, Devin Booker, and Brandon Ingram are all big parts of their respective franchise's future. Jahlil Okafor is another story. The past few days you have seen stories like this from CBS Sports detailing how the Sixers are looking to trade Jahlil Okafor.
www.cbssports.com/nba/news/brett-brown-76ers-exploring-trade-market-for-jahlil-okafor-to-see-whats-out-there/ While it is not uncommon for teams to explore trade value for players, they are not usually so upfront and honest about it. This is true considering that the player in question was the third pick in the 2015 Draft and has only played two seasons in the NBA. In addition to that, he is only 21 years old. There is a big problem with Jahlil Okafor though and that is that he plays in the wrong era for his skill set. He is a low post scorer and there are just not a lot of them out there these days due to the style in which the majority of teams play. This does not mean that Okafor is not a good player, it just means that his strengths do not fit what teams want to do and his weaknesses hurt the teams he plays for in dealing with teams that have embraced the pace and space strategy. Jahlil Okafor had a good rookie season for the Sixers. He played for one of the worst teams in the history of the NBA winning only 10 games in his rookie season. Okafor missed 29 of those games, but in the games he played he put up some good numbers averaging 17 points and 7 rebounds per game in 30 minutes each game. He shot over 50% from the field and it looked as if he could be a go to scorer in the post. Last season was not great for Okafor, he again missed quite a few games and his minutes, scoring, and rebounding all went down. In his time though he proved to be just as efficient. Using Basketball Reference's amazing player season finder tool, he is one of four big men that were able to average over 10 points in less than 23 minutes per game while shooting over 50% (you can see the table at bkref.com/pi/shareit/lCexd). The other three were Jusuf Nurkic (counting his time in Denver and Portland together), Enes Kanter, and Greg Monroe. While none of those players are going to be transformational, they can help your team win by providing good minutes and scoring off the bench. They are also all players that score well in the paint, but maybe do not play the greatest defense or protect the rim that well. Despite that, Okafor is a valuable player. In looking at his individual playtype statistics from Synergy you can get a good idea of how good he is as a scorer. In isolation, Okafor rated out well and they accounted for 20% of his possessions. He ranked in the 75th percentile in the NBA, which is pretty good and even shot 52% in isolation situations. Okafor can score if given the opportunities. As a post up threat, Okafor got a lot of his possessions in the post and he took advantage. He is one of only 16 players that averaged at least post up possessions per game. He scored 0.86 points per possession and given the chance to be surrounded by more shooting that number could go up. Joel Embiid, who is the reason the Sixers are so willing to part with Okafor, was not much better of a post up threat than Okafor. The difference though is in what they can do. Embiid can do a lot of things offensively and defensively that Okafor cannot. Defensively, Okafor is not great. He is a step or two slow and he has a hard time protecting the rim. As a post up defender, Okafor gave up 0.97 points per possession, which put him in the 33rd percentile of the league. He fared even worse in isolation situations, giving up 1.00 point per possession, which put him in the 25th percentile of the league. There is hope for Jahlil Okafor and it should be found in Greg Monroe. Monroe came into the league with a similar skill set to Okafor and struggled to play on winning teams. If you look at his yearly totals, as his minutes went down his efficiency has gone up and he reached the playoffs for the first time in his career as a 6th man for the Bucks. He provides a low post threat for them off the bench and gives great effort defensively even though he possesses the same weaknesses as Okafor. Okafor is never going to be an elite defender, but a lot of defense is effort. If he can play decent defense for 20 minutes in addition to being a low post load for other teams to handle with their stretch fives, he has a place with a good team. I think he could be valuable to the Sixers, but it appears that they will trade him. I would not, I think he has a chance to be a great bench player for a good team. Brandon Ingram was the second pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He played for a bad Lakers team that won 26 games and are looking to the summer of 2018. He had a rough rookie season in many ways. Looking at his numbers you do not come away feeling too good about him as a prospect. It is not uncommon for players to struggle in their rookie years due to limited playing time or playing for really bad teams. Brandon Ingram averaged less than 10 points per game and shot less than 41%, including 29% from three. Physically, Ingram has all of the tools and reportedly has grown two inches since the end of the season meaning he is now 6'11. He also has a 7'3 wingspan and a standing reach of over 9 feet.
The majority of Ingram's offensive possessions took place in spot up and pick and roll situations. As a spot up threat, Ingram is not someone to worry about. He shot 35% in spot up situations and is not much of a shooting threat. In pick and roll situations, did not fare much better. He averaged 0.59 points per possession as a pick and roll ball handler. Despite Ingram's lack of success as a ball handler in pick and rolls he does have decent court vision and his length gives him the chance to become a good passer. Ingram was not much better in any other offensive play type. Defensively speaking, Ingram was wearing a Lakers jersey, meaning he did not play any defense last year. His long arms give him the ability to be a good defender. He shows good effort defensively and as the Lakers get more established veterans he will have the chance to use his length more. Their is a great deal of upside with Ingram and the Lakers have to cautious and allow him to grow. His body type reminds me a lot of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The only difference between Giannis and Ingram in terms of expectations is that Ingram played a year at Duke and Giannis came from Greece. Giannis and Ingram have similar body types and similar weaknesses and their first year stats were eerily similar. Giannis shot 41%, 4 rebounds per game, 2 assists per game, and 7 points per game for a Bucks team that won 15 games. Ingram shot 40%, 4 rebounds per game, 2 assists per game, and 9 points per game for a Lakers team that won 26 games. It took Giannis time to develop into the player he is today. He is still not a great shooter, but if you have length like Giannis and Ingram you can be an effective offensive weapon without a great stroke. In addition, Giannis has become a force on the defensive end, blocking shots and using his length to causes chaos. Ingram has the ability to become that type of force. The development of Ingram is not a certainty. If the Lakers are able to get a big time free agent like Paul George or Lebron James it will drastically alter the willingness of the Lakers to spend time developing young players. This will be an interesting season for Ingram, he is going to be on another bad Lakers team, but with a player like Lonzo Ball, who may or may not become the greatest playmaker to ever live, Brandon Ingram stands to benefit playing with someone who can get him easier shots and better opportunities. |
AuthorDennis Dow Archives
October 2017
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