Most importantly, however, they must get the most out of the entire offense, spreading the playing time among the role players and granting the starters the rest they so desperately need during the games.”
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2177450-predicting-the-biggest-changes-well-see-from-the-warriors-next-season
– Antetokounmpo, Parker have chance to carry on rich tradition (from Truman Reed, bucks.com):
” The bar has been set high.
But Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker have displayed the potential to one day enter a discussion of the premier forward tandems in Milwaukee Bucks history.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/bucks/features/mb-looking-forward
– Dion Waiters stays in Cleveland: King’s orders (from Mark Sielski, Philadlephia Inquirer):
” Dion Waiters was en route to Los Angeles last month for a weeklong workout session with pro basketball trainer Rob McClanaghan, an annual West Coast trip that had become as much a part of Waiters’ offseason routine as the trade rumors that always seem to include his name, when his cellphone buzzed. He answered it.
“Be ready,” LeBron James told him.
James had not yet announced that he had decided to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. So he was coy in his brief conversation with Waiters, who grew up in South Philadelphia and has been the Cavs’ starting shooting guard since they drafted him fourth overall out of Syracuse in 2012. “He never gave me a clear-cut answer,” Waiters said, but then, he didn’t need to.
Read it here: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixer /20140827_Dion_Waiters_stays_in_Cleveland__King_s_orders.html
– Iman Shumpert: Offense an upgrade (from Ohm Youngmisuk and Ian Begley, ESPNNewyork.com):
” New York Knicks guard Iman Shumpert is spending his offseason working on strengthening his surgically repaired left knee and staying off social media.
He’s also looking forward to playing in an offense that allows him to do more than “standing in the corner.”
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/11416336
– Philadelphia 76ers Showing the NBA How Rebuilding Is Done (from Stephen Babb, Bleacher Report):
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2177109-philadelphia-76ers-showing-the-nba-how-rebuilding-is-done
– NBA unveils new rules to make baselines safer (from Brian Mahoney, Associated Press):
Read it here: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/nba-unveils-new-rules-to-make-baselines-safer08262014
– Matthew Dellavedova: from country Victoria to the court of King James (from Kieran Pender,
” As he prepares for the Basketball World Cup, the Boomers point guard credits his dramatic rise to hard work, dedication, and family support.
While the odds of progressing from a small Victorian country town to the bright lights of the National Basketball Association may have been slim, with some assistance from his family Dellavedova has graduated from Maryborough’s little leagues to LeBron James’s Cleveland Cavaliers.”
Read it here: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/aug/27/matthew-dellavedova-interview-cleveland-cavaliers
– The Next Big Thing In Sports Data: Predicting (And Avoiding) Injuries (from Brian Kamenetzky, fastcompany.com):
” Until recently, (injuries were) largely seen as the cost of doing business, subject as much to the will of the sports-injury gods as advancements in training. Now, the fast-growing industry of performance analytics says it can minimize those massive losses. The trick: using data to anticipate how an athlete will get hurt before it actually happens.
“We really think [injuries] are the largest market inefficiency in pro sports,” says Adam Hewitt, assistant GM of Peak Performance Project (P3) in Santa Barbara, CA, one of the country’s leading centers of sports science and performance analytics.”
Read it here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3034655/healthware/the-next-big-thing-in-sports-data-predicting-and-avoiding-injuries
” The narrative of Anthony Bennett’s rookie season was never fair. As the top choice of a historically weak draft that was bothered by multiple health maladies before and during his debut campaign, the odds were always stacked against him to meet expectations. That Bennett was playing for a Cleveland Cavaliers franchise at the height of its longstanding ineptitude only further darkened his basketball reality.
But it’s always easier for the public to glean analysis from above the surface than beneath it. Bennett opened 2013-2014 in truly awful fashion, missing his first 15 shots before getting off the snide by going 1-5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in Cleveland’s fifth game of the season. By the time December began and the 20 year-old Bennett was barely getting off the bench for one of the league’s worst teams, his story was written: Bennett was a bust of epic proportions who might not even deserve a place in the NBA, let alone the distinction of being its number one draft pick.
The problem is that take lacked any context whatsoever.
(Flip Saunders) understands the aspects beyond Bennett’s control that contributed to such wholesale rookie struggles. And despite the effort, efficiency, awareness, and physical concerns that so plagued Bennett’s debut, Saunders still thinks the UNLV product will grow into a valuable player for the ‘Wolves. ”
Read it here: http://dimemag.com/2014/08/report-saunders-confidence-bennett-says-hes-rotation-type-player/
– It’s Memphis’ turn on the free agency rollercoaster with Marc Gasol (from Matt Moore, CBS Sports):
” It’s not going to be the Dwightmare. It won’t be the MeloDrama or the LoveBoat. And it certainly won’t be the Decision 2.0. But the reality is this: Marc Gasol is a legit star in this league, even if few casual fans know who he is. He’s a major impact player who can instantly transform your team on both sides of the ball. And he’s a free agent in 2015.
So you’re about to hear a lot about Marc Gasol over the next 10 months. It’s going to be a running conversation. The Grizzlies won’t be extending Gasol under any reasonable circumstances, because the last CBA limited the number of years a player can sign an extension for. Gasol stands to benefit in a big way from reaching free agency and then signing a new deal, whether with Memphis or elsewhere.”
Read it here: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24681610/its-memphis-turn-on-the-free-agency-rollercoaster-with-marc-gasol
– The John Wall Effect will be tested (from Mike Prada, bulletsforever.com):
” In many ways, the 2014-15 season is shaping up to be the biggest test of the John Wall effect.
We coined that term last year to illustrate the idea that the Wizards‘ point guard inflates the three-point percentages of his surrounding teammates. It’s proven over multiple years: Wall has a knack of turning average three-point marksmen into good ones and good ones into great ones.
For whatever reason, Wall loves kicking the ball out to open three-point shooters. Wall pulled off the rare double duty of ranking No. 1 in the league in both corner and wing three-point assists last year. He had 22 more corner assists than the second-ranked player (LeBron James) and accounted for more by himself than the Kings and Bucks did as a team. Overall, Wall had 51 more three-point assists than the second-highest player in the league, a gap wider than the difference between the second-highest (Goran Dragic) and 12th-highest (James Harden) finisher. Nobody in the league is better at sucking defenders to him and finding open shooters. It’s his patented assist.
The question for 2014-15: which shooters will be receiving those kick-out passes?”
Read and view it here: http://www.bulletsforever.com/2014/8/26/6069679/john-wall-effect-test-wizards-paul-pierce
– Breaking Down Chicago Bulls’ Power Forward Position for 2014-15 Season (from james Davis, Bleacher Report):
” The Chicago Bulls made quite a few moves during the summer of 2014, and no spot was more impacted than the power forward position.
Longtime starter Carlos Boozer was amnestied, which created the financial means to add veteran Pau Gasol and successfully negotiate a contract for their promising Euroleague star Nikola Mirotic. Their additions, along with the perpetually improving Taj Gibson, give head coach Tom Thibodeau terrific frontcourt versatility.
So, what should be the expectations for this new assemblage over the course of the 2014-15 campaign?”
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2175824-breaking-down-chicago-bulls-power-forward-position-for-2014-15-season
– What Will Be the NBA’s Next Great Positional Revolution? (from James Cavan, Bleacher Report):
” In 2004, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern spearheaded a series of rule changes designed to curb hand-checking and crack down on overly physical play. The strategy was all too obvious: In recalibrating the league along more guard-friendly lines, Stern was banking on the increased scoring and star power helping reinvigorate both the game and the fans who watched it.
Ten years later, we can safely say it’s been mission accomplished for the NBA.
As with any piece of well-intentioned legislation, there were bound to be unintended consequences, not the least of which has been the increased focus on “small-ball” lineups—in particular, those featuring stretch 4s and 5s.
Knowing what we know now about the league’s recent past, what, if anything, will be its next great positional revolution?”
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2177219-what-will-be-the-nbas-next-great-positional-revolution
– Healthy Al Horford Would Push Atlanta Hawks to Next Level (from Jared Johnson, Bleacher Report);
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2176259-healthy-al-horford-would-push-atlanta-hawks-to-next-level
– CJ Miles in Position to Succeed (from Mark Monteith, NBA.com/Pacers):
” When he signed his free agent contract with the Pacers on July 11, C.J. Miles seemed destined for the pleasant role of filling in scoring gaps within the Pacers’ offense, probably off the bench. Optimism over re-signing Lance Stephenson was rampant at the time, and Paul George was healthy.
Things have changed dramatically since Stephenson signed with Charlotte and George crash-landed from a blocked shot attempt in a USA Basketball scrimmage in Las Vegas. Suddenly, Miles will be vitally needed to move some earth in the Pacers’ offense, and lend a hand anywhere else he can manage as well.
Whether or not he can do it with any consistency will be one of the primary questions facing the Pacers this season, as they look to lubricate an offense that sometimes struggled to score even under the best of circumstances last season. Returning starters Roy Hibbert, David West and George Hill will be called upon for more offense, and have shown they can do it when given the opportunity, but Miles likely will have to step in and step up if the Pacers are to reach the playoffs for a fifth straight season.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/miles-position-succeed
– A New Breed Of Basketball Players Are Chasing The American Dream (from Hoopsaddict.com):
” A gym in suburban Pennsylvania doesn’t sound like the most obvious place to be for a young Mongolian-Canadian student with dreams to make it big in sports. But that’s where Jacob Tala spent all of July, perfecting his basketball game.
“You know, we’re descendants of Genghis Khan,” Norma Tala, Jacob’s mother, says excitedly, keeping a watchful eye on the court. She erupts in applause as her son sinks a basket against the Philadelphia Vipers. His purported ancestor’s famous drive to conquer seems mirrored in Jacob’s bid to make it big in a foreign land. He wants to be a basketball star in America, and if he makes it, he will have a small basketball academy in Pennsylvania to thank.
The 17-year old is one of the kids from 12 countries spending part of the summer at Alexander Basketball Academy, a monthlong sleepaway camp for international high school talent from countries ranging from Denmark to China.
Tala is one of the emerging international players who are changing the face of the sport in America, some of them originally from countries, like Mongolia, where basketball has been catapulted rapidly from an oddity into one of the most popular sports.”
Read it here: http://www.hoopsaddict.com/articles/new-breed-of-basketball-players-are-chasing-the-american-dream/
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