– Raptors’ coach Casey a keen strategist (from Ryan Wolstat, Toronto Sun):
” You grow every year as far as knowing the players. Every year I work to get better as a coach.
“Controlling the game, substitutions, how to handle timeouts … All those things.”
Read it here: http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/10/27/raptors-coach-casey-a-keen-strategist
– Raptors embrace healthy attitude toward bioanalytics (from Dave Feschuk, the star.com):
” (Alex) McKechnie is the sports scientist who has been a Raptors assistant coach since then-GM Bryan Colangelo brought him aboard in 2011. Before that he spent most of a decade helping the L.A. Lakers win a handful of championships; Shaquille O’Neal coined McKechnie “The Resurrector” for keeping the once-oft-injured centre healthy in his prime.
Still, for all McKechnie’s experience, his NBA outlook was reshaped when the Raptors began practising and scrimmaging wearing Catapult GPS devices. The units, which are roughly the size of a smartphone and sit in a small pocket sewn into the back of jerseys, between the shoulder blades, transmit droves of data as they bounce along with the player. The devices can be used to measure an array of performance details that are vast in scope, from the average length of an athlete’s stride, to the height of his every jump, to the number of kilometres he logs in a given workout. Outfitted with an electric compass, the gizmos also measure the direction and orientation in which players move.
If the droves of data can be daunting to digest, McKechnie soon emerged with one surprising takeaway. According to the Catapult numbers captured during Raptors scrimmages, some 80 per cent of movements were performed laterally or backwards. Only 20 per cent of athletes’ collective movement was of the forward variety. McKechnie beckoned Gary McCoy, Catapult’s senior applied sports scientist, to have a look at what he’d discovered.
“Alex says to me, ‘All our conditioning is done going forward. We don’t train laterally or backwards,’” McCoy recalled. “Alex said, ‘That’s the first change we’re going to make.”
Read it here: http://www.thestar.com/sports/raptors/2014/10/27/raptors_embrace_healthy_attitude_toward_bioanalytics_feschuk.html
– Nikola Mirotic: Internationally Known, Locally Respected (from Robert Mays, grantland.com):
” From Montenegro to Chicago, Nikola Mirotic is following a path first traced by the Bulls’ original super-Euro, Toni Kukoc. Will he find championships like his forerunner?”
Read it here: http://grantland.com/features/nikola-mirotic-chicago-bulls-toni-kukoc-pau-gasol/
– Roy Hibbert: ‘I had to change’ after playoff struggles (from Candace Buckner, USA Today):
” Hibbert can be gracious with a guest, but distant. Contemplative and patient, yet still aloof. Seven years into the NBA and Hibbert has learned to gird himself. Against the gawkers. Against the keyboard critics. But to survive the nightmare through last season’s playoffs, Hibbert needed to build up an even greater wall.
So when he put up more zeroes than a pitcher throwing a no-hitter, he cut off everyone. Not even the best man for his wedding could get him on the phone.
Hibbert plummeted, hard and fast. But he began to recognize a truth: when you’re 7-2 and north of 290 pounds, a DNA lottery winner who could dunk as an adolescent and emerge as the focal point of a championship contender’s defensive identity, your problems are not physical.
“The only person who could fix this whole mess that I got myself into,” Hibbert says, “is me.””
Read it here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/pacers/2014/10/27/roy-hibbert-indiana-playoffs-struggles-paul-george-injury/18034391/
– Could the Jazz Be This Year’s Suns? (from Brett Koremenos, grantland.com):
” The top and bottom of the NBA are relatively predictable. We have a pretty good sense of who will be good (Spurs) and who will be bad (HINNNNKIE). The fun happens in the middle. A year ago, the Phoenix Suns broke up the regular-season monotony and entertained the hell out of us. Heading into this season, we can only hope another team can bolt from the middle class and capture our attention.
If you’re looking for candidates, turn you eyes toward Salt Lake City.
The reason for hope in Utah isn’t what it’s putting on the floor, but the guy running things from the bench.”
Read and view it here: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/could-the-jazz-be-this-years-suns/
– Wiggins ready to excel at both ends of the floor for Wolves (from Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune):
Read it here: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/280603642.html?page=all&prepage=3&c=y#continue
– Markieff Morris relies on mid-range shot (from Paul Coro, azcentral.com):
” For some teams, getting the ball to a big man posting up can lead to high-percentage scoring.
The Suns did not have much of that last season, making up for that void with easy points on fast breaks. That has not changed much this season, with Markieff Morris still looking like the Suns’ only frequent post-up threat, and it is not even his strength.
Morris’ post-up game progressed last season and became a much bigger part of his offense as the season went on, but it is his midrange game that makes him most effective.’
Read it here: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2014/10/27/phoenix-suns-markieff-morris-jeff-hornacek-nba/18035495/
– Lakers’ Julius Randle shaped by mentors’ tough love, endless support (from Mark Medina, L.A. Daily News):
Read it here: http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20141027/lakers-julius-randle-shaped-by-mentors-tough-love-endless-support
– Three Sides to This Story (from Scott Cacciola, NYTimes.com):
” The triangle. It means different things to different people. To most, the triangle is simply a three-sided shape. But the triangle is versatile. It is a musical instrument. It is a romantic entanglement. And it is a drafting tool for architects. Name another polygon that can do all that.
For long-suffering fans of the Knicks, though, the triangle has come to mean something much more — a source of hope after 41 years without a championship.”
Read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/sports/basketball/ny-knicks-dust-off-phil-jackson-triangle-offense.html
– Anthony Davis keeps rising (from Ted Lewis, theadvocate.com):
“Anthony Davis is not just on the rise,” said Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who has his own MVP in Kevin Durant. “He’s there already.”
Read it here: http://theadvocate.com/sports/pelicans/10620644-148/face-of-the-franchise-the
– Why DeRozan could be the most important Raptor (from Michael Grange, sportsnet.ca):
Read it here: http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/nba/why-demar-derozan-may-be-the-most-important-toronto-raptor-ever/
– Why Toronto Loves Amir Johnson (from Zach Salzmann/Gad Elmaleh, ballnroll.com):
“It’s a privilege to play in this league,” Amir Johnson tells us when we interview him after a recent pre-season game. “I work on my craft every day, all the time.”
The hard work that Amir undoubtedly puts into his game is on show every night to fans of the Toronto Raptors.”
Read it here: http://ballnroll.com/exclusiveaccess?post=1463
– Rockets GM Daryl Morey builds beyond nerd stereotypes (from Sam Amick, USA Today):
Read it here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2014/10/27/jeremy-lin-dwight-howard-daryl-morey-rockets-lakers/18023323/
– Advanced NBA metrics, Wizards Coach Randy Wittman do not agree (from Jorge Castillo, Washington Post):
” Randy Wittman is a self-described old-school basketball lifer. The Washington Wizards coach appreciates the sport’s history and is openly reluctant to accept drastic change to the game — as exhibited by his recent opinion on the NBA’s experiment with shortening games. The throwback mentality also has manifested itself in how his team operates offensively.
At a time when advanced metrics have infiltrated the NBA, statisticians have concluded “long twos” — outside the paint, inside the three-point arc — are the least efficient shot in basketball. Wittman admits he is not one for numbers.
“We’re going to take open shots,” Wittman emphasized. “If a team wants to give us mid-range open shots, we’re going to take them. I’m going to tell a guy that has a wide-open 15-foot jumper to take three steps back and shoot a three? I’m not going to do that.””
– Magic See Defense as a Key to Escaping the Cellar (from Dick Scanlon, theledger.com):
Read it here: http://www.theledger.com/article/20141027/news/141029422
– Phoenix Suns’ keys to success: Rebound, don’t turn over the ball (from Craig Grialou, arizonasports.com):
Read it here: http://www.arizonasports.com/41/1778163/Phoenix-Suns-keys-to-success-Rebound-dont-turn-over-the-ball
– Tyson Chandler back where he belongs (from Tim McMahon, ESPN):
Read it here: http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4703416/tyson-chandler-back-where-he-belongs-and-is-beloved
– Kerr’s Warriors speak same language: Winning (from Jon Gold, tucson.com):
– Line-up Love: Golden State Warriors (from Ben Dowsett, Bball Breakdown):
” Lineup rotations are vital, perhaps the most critical element of a given coach’s responsibilities. And while all elements herein are crucial, of paramount importance are the high-volume line-ups who set the tone for their teams. We want to delve deeply into these big minutes units, from the very best to the very worst – what makes them so good (or bad), and what separates them from others? Today is Part One of Line-up Love, looking at a Golden State Warriors starting line-up that was among the league’s very best last season.
As far as the top of the high-volume line-up list goes, you will not find better bang for your buck than last year’s Golden State Warriors starting unit. The group of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, David Lee, and Andrew Bogut saw 819 minutes of court time together last regular season, the fifth most of any five-man line-up in the league. But their quality likely exceeded even their immense volume, with this line-up posting a net per-100-possessions rating of plus-15.4 while they shared the floor – of 15 line-ups in the league that cracked 500 total minutes on the year, just a single other posted a plus-10 or better (a fun Charlotte line-up at plus-10.9).”
Read and view it here: http://bballbreakdown.com/2014/10/14/line-up-love-golden-state-warriors/
– Detroit Pistons And The Huge Experiment Gone Wrong (from Ben Dowsett, BBall Breakdown):
” Last summer, then-Pistons GM Joe Dumars decided to conduct an experiment. With proven post presence Greg Monroe already in town, alongside exciting and enticing sophomore lottery selection Andre Drummond in the Pistons’ frontcourt, Dumars added longtime Hawks forward Josh Smith in free agency for the hefty price tag of four years and $54 million. Despite the league trending heavily in a smaller, speedier direction, Dumars believed he saw something exploitable at his disposal in going the other way. Either that, or he struck out everywhere else and wanted to make a splash ASAP to try and force a return to Detroit’s mid-2000’s glory days in order to save his job. Certainly, it was one of the two.
Whatever the case, Dumars’s experiment failed badly. The team was an unmitigated disaster, starting 4-8 on their way to a 29-win season which could only match the previous year’s total despite the high-profile, high-cost additions of Smith and point guard Brandon Jennings. Any attempt to save his job was in vain – Dumars is now gone after a 14-year run in Detroit, and both head coaches he forced last year’s roster upon (Mo Cheeks and John Loyer) are in the same boat.
“Perhaps, though, the corner has been turned. Stan Van Gundy is on board now in the Motor City, and should provide the sort of top-down stability the franchise has been badly lacking since Dumars lost his mojo somewhere between 2006 and 2008 or so. He surely needs to.”
Read and view it here: http://bballbreakdown.com/2014/10/23/line-up-love-detroit-pistons-and-the-huge-experiment-gone-wrong/
– Opening Night Rosters (from Basketball Insiders):
Check them out here: http://www.basketballinsiders.com/nba-rosters-get-locked-in/
More player updates:
– Michael Carter-Williams: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20141028_Carter-Williams__second_season_could_be_a_defining_one.html
– Malcolm Thomas: http://www.csnphilly.com/basketball-philadelphia-76ers/malcolm-thomas-joins-sixers-focused-getting-boards
– CJ McCollum: http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2014/10/cj_mccollum_feeling_more_comfortable_searching_for.html
– Kyle Lowry: http://www.tsn.ca/talent/lewenberg-lowry-poised-for-all-star-sequel-to-breakout-campaign-1.118011
– Steven Adams: http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/sports/adams-could-be-the-x-factor-for-thunder/article_c24cf1be-5e5b-11e4-beea-237a5499334f.html
– Travis Wear: http://hoopshabit.com/2014/10/28/new-york-knicks-travis-wear/
Basketball Intelligence 