– Celtics Prep for Thunder’s Lengthy Zone (from Marc D’Amico, celtics.com):
” Oklahoma City, without the services of Durant and Russell Westbrook, is using its big men to its advantage this season by playing much more zone defense than it has in the past. In previous seasons, the Thunder played man-to-man defense almost exclusively. This season, according to the Celtics’ basketball operations group, they have played about 30 percent of their defensive possessions with a zone concept.
They’re zoning a lot more,” Brad Stevens said on Monday, “because they’ve got Lance Thomas playing the 3, and then they’ll even play (Serge) Ibaka, (Nick) Collison and (Steven) Adams or Perk (Kendrick Perkins) together.”
Each of those guys possesses a wingspan that nears or surpasses seven feet, and their imposing characteristics don’t end there.
“When you say bigs – real, real bigs,” Stevens commented following Tuesday’s practice. “They’re big and they’re long and athletic.”
Any combination of three of Oklahoma City’s big men can combine to be a dominant force at the bottom of a zone.
“That baseline zone is – if you’re stagnant, they’ll eat you up because of their length,” Boston’s coach added.”
Read it here: http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/prac-111114-celtics-pre-thunders-length-zone
– ‘Sixth man’ still comes with stigma among NBA players (from Sam Amick, USA Today):
” As NBA player blueprints go, you’d think Manu Ginobili’s would be more popular.
Wildly talented scorer accepts a reserve role early on, then blossoms into one of the best super subs in the history of the game en route to winning four championships and earning more than $100 million over his 13-year career. But the sixth-man stigma, it seems quite clear, remains.
Just ask the Oklahoma City Thunder, who lost James Harden two years ago, in part, because he had no interest in following in Ginobili’s footsteps and now have a similar quandary with young guard Reggie Jackson leading into his free agency next summer. Or the Phoenix Suns, who have point guard Isaiah Thomas making $28 million over the next four years to play that role yet spending his days dreaming of being a starter. Or the Cleveland Cavaliers, who so badly need young Dion Waiters to embrace his recent reassignment and become an impact player off the bench. Or the Golden State Warriors, who convinced veteran small forward Andre Iguodala to play the sixth man role but are well aware he would prefer to start.
Yet in this era in which the “Big Three” model is hailed as the only path to championship prominence, the more subtle role of a sixth man can often make or break a team’s title hopes as well.”
Read it here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/11/11/sixth-man-stigma-manu-ginobili-andre-iguodala-isaiah-thomas/18883329/
– Paul Silas, NBA Lifer (from Jonathan Abrams, grantland.com):
” Reflections on guarding Bill Russell, coaching LeBron James, and calling Michael Jordan “boss” from the player and coach whose career has spanned six decades”
-Gregg Popovich Says It Was ‘Easy to See’ Steve Kerr Would Become Coach (from Jacob Bourne, Bleacher Report):
“Steve was a no-brainer,” Popovich said before the Spurs’ Nov. 11 matchup with the Warriors. “There are certain guys on your team that you know have an intuitive feel for the game. They’re also natural leaders and good people. They communicate well, have great work ethics and high intelligence. He had all that stuff. It was pretty easy to see.”
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2264566-gregg-popovich-says-it-was-easy-to-see-steve-kerr-would-become-coach
– On Trevor Ariza, the Rockets and the concept of ‘fit’ in the NBA (from Evan Clinchy, Hardwood Paroxysm):
” And yet, two weeks into the NBA season, I find myself not only doubting the above statement, but also questioning the very definition of the term. What makes one basketball player superior to another? Is it ever something that can completely, 100 percent be measured, as we’re so often lobbied to believe in this era of analytics, or will there always be at least a little room for doubt and debate? Is merit always about the mathematics, or does it sometimes lean more toward psychology?
These are the questions I turn over in my head as I watch the Rockets excel so far this season with Ariza, a theoretically “weaker” player, plugged into Parsons’ job. I start thinking not about stats, but about fit. Not about how talented either player is, necessarily, but about how they fulfill certain responsibilities and how they complement the strengths and weaknesses of the players around them.”
Read and view it here: http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2014/11/11/trevor-ariza-rockets-concept-fit-nba/
– Five problems plaguing the New York Knicks (from Shlomo Sprung, Sheridan Hoops):
“The New York Knicks have lost five straight games and are now 2-6 after wins over Cleveland and Charlotte in their first three contests. So what are the Knicks doing so poorly over the league’s first two-plus weeks?
Read it here: http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2014/11/12/five-problems-plaguing-the-new-york-knicks/
– Watch Anthony Davis Do A Little Bit Of Everything In Close Loss To Cavs (from Spencer Lund, dimemag.com):
Read and view it here: http://dimemag.com/2014/11/watch-anthony-davis-everything-loss-cavs/
– As NBA Clock Starts on Andrew Wiggins, T-WolvesLearning What Makes Him Tick (from Ethan Skolnick, Bleacher Report):
Read it here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2260178-as-nba-clock-starts-on-andrew-wiggins-twolves-learning-what-makes-him-tick
– Rudy Gobert Is Fulfilling His Defensive Potential (from Miles Wray, BBall Breakdown):
Read and view it here: http://bballbreakdown.com/2014/11/11/the-stifle-tower-utahs-rudy-gobert-is-fulfilling-his-defensive-potential/
More player updates:
– Jordan Hill: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2263367-jordan-hill-showing-los-angeles-lakers-that-hes-worth-the-money
– James Johnson: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/11/12/toronto-raptors-james-johnson-is-spicy-and-crazy-and-also-good-at-defence/
– K.J. McDaniels: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/deep-sixer/McDaniels-makes-case-to-be-Sixers-starter.html
– Ben McLemore: http://cowbellkingdom.com/offseason-work-for-ben-mclemore-paying-dividends/
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