– Quin Snyder leaves lasting impression on ex-Jazz players in Atlanta (from Jody Genessy, deseretnews.com):
” While player development of young players is a well-known forte of Snyder’s — and is one reason why the Jazz are so happy to have him on board with their youth movement — his ability to help Korver improve as a thirtysomething was a good example of how he can also teach old dogs new tricks.
“A lot of his stuff is just brand new and it’s fresh and it’s exciting,” said Korver, who’s eager to see what changes he makes to the Jazz offense. “And it’s fun to play. It makes you want to work harder.”
Read it here: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865615493/Korver-uses-play-taught-by-Jazz-coach-to-defeat-Utah.html
– Andre Drummond Under Construction in Detroit (from Zach Lowe, grantland.com):
Read and view it here: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/andre-drummond-detroit-pistons/
– Coach Steve Kerr’s Style Is Molded by Many Mentors (from Andrew Keh, NYTimes):
Read it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/14/sports/basketball/warriors-coach-steve-kerrs-style-is-molded-by-many-mentors.html
– How good are the Toronto Raptors? (from Mike Prada, SBNation):
” The East’s feel-good story of last year is off to an even better start this season. But can Toronto really challenge for an Eastern Conference crown?”
Read and view it here: http://www.sbnation.com/2014/11/13/7204487/toronto-raptors-breakdown-analysis-nba-eastern-conference
– Clippers’ perimeter defense an issue that is not going away (from Kurt Helin, NBC Sports):
” It’s been a hot topic around Southern California and the league: What is going on with the 4-3 Clippers? They haven’t looked like contenders, and they haven’t looked like the dangerous team they were at the end of the playoffs last year.
Critics can talk about execution down the stretch, and the Clippers certainly lacked that in their loss to the Spurs Monday. They can talk about the team playing flat and without energy, and that is certainly true for long stretches. They can talk about poor offensive execution, and the Clippers are down 5.4 points per 100 possessions on offense from their league high last season. They can talk about Blake Griffin taking too many jumpers, although on Monday he made a point of getting back inside. All of that is true.
But none of that is the Clippers’ biggest problem.
The most concerning issue is their perimeter defense — and there’s no easy fix for this leak.”
Read it here: http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/14/clippers-perimeter-defense-an-issue-that-is-not-going-away/
– Discussing Andrew Wiggins’ development with David Thorpe (from Zach Harper, awolfamongwolves.com):
” I’ve known David for a few years, and he’s worked with dozens of NBA and international players, including Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer. He and I sat down to discuss Andrew Wiggins’ potential and the process of developing such an exciting prospect. His answers were incredible and he offered up great insight. I decided to post the full Q&A here, since I could only use so much of what he said in my piece on CBSSports. ”
Read it here: http://www.awolfamongwolves.com/2014/11/discussing-andrew-wiggins-development-with-david-thorpe/#more-2897
and more on Wiggins here: – Andrew Wiggins: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24805437/developing-a-star-wolves-facilitating-andrew-wiggins-greatness
– Everyone stays ready on deep Bucks bench (from Andrew Gruman, Fox Sports Wisconsin):
“ The reserves of the Milwaukee Bucks have adopted a saying that’s become more of a mindset early on this season.
“As long as you stay ready, you won’t have to get ready.”
Through eight games, the Bucks lead the NBA in bench scoring at 46.4 points per game and have relied on their reserves for more minutes per game than any other team in the league.
Milwaukee’s bench has a mix of young talent and veterans who have started previously in the NBA. But more importantly, they are all buying in to the way first-year Bucks coach Jason Kidd utilizes his second unit.”
Read it here: http://www.foxsports.com/wisconsin/story/everyone-stays-ready-on-deep-bucks-bench-of-young-players-veterans-111414
– Breaking Down the Celtics Pick and Roll Defensive Struggles (from Redsarmy.com):
Read and view it here: http://redsarmy.com/2014/11/14/breaking-down-the-celtics-pick-and-roll-defensive-struggles/
– Tom Thibodeau, Creator of Elite Point Guards (from honkasalom, hoopchalk.com):
” The Bulls have never had players to replace what Rose does: someone who can beat you off the dribble, penetrate, and kick it to an open shooter. The kind of player you really need if you want to create good looks possession after possession. There’s a limit on what you can do and the efficiency you can manufacture with Joakim Noah in the high post, no matter how cool it is.
The Bulls have had to rely on some less than stellar talent to hold down the fort in Rose’s absence. Players such as Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, John Lucas, D.J. Augustin and C.J. Watson have had to carry a big offensive load.
Now some of those names are bigger than others, but what they have in common is that they all had some type of career resurgence, bounce-back year, or otherwise outperformed expectations while they were with the Bulls. Some to a miraculous degree.”
Read and view it here: http://hoopchalk.com/2014/11/04/tom-thibodeau-creator-of-elite-point-guards/
– Bucks Floppy Play for Khris Middleton (from Andrew Ford, hoopchalk.com):
” The Milwaukee Bucks offense has struggled in the early going this season (29th in offensive rating), but one play that head coach Jason Kidd has implemented with great success in his first season is floppy for Khris Middleton. On opening night against the Charlotte Hornets, floppy was called for Middleton six times, leading to a bucket each time. Since that night, the Bucks have run floppy for Middleton much less frequently, but it remains a solid option for a sputtering offense.”
Read and view it here: http://hoopchalk.com/2014/11/14/bucks-floppy-play-for-khris-middleton/
– Toronto Raptors and Their Odd Starting Unit (from Ben Dowsett, BBall Breakdown):
read and view it here: http://bballbreakdown.com/2014/11/12/line-up-love-toronto-raptors-and-their-odd-starting-unit/
– Too Early for Many NBA Players to be Traded (from Eric Pincus, Basketball Insiders):
” Players who were signed over the summer cannot be dealt until December 15, unless they received at least a 20 percent raise (and their team was over the cap upon signing), which creates a trade restriction until January 15. Additionally, players signed after September 15 cannot be dealt until 90 days from their contract date — and those claimed off waivers must wait until 30 days into the season to be traded.
Recently traded players cannot be re-dealt in a package (via aggregation of salary) with other players on their new roster for 60 days, if their team is over the cap.
Some players have no-trade clauses in their contracts, either explicitly or implicitly. Veterans like Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant and Brooklyn Nets forward/center Kevin Garnett have the former. Players re-signed by their teams on one-year deals (even if there’s a second on a team or player option) can also block trades, like Miami HEAT guard Dwyane Wade and Detroit Pistons forward Greg Monroe.
Veterans whose contracts were recently extended cannot be traded for six months, like Cleveland Cavaliers center Anderson Varejao. Those claimed off amnesty waivers, specifically Los Angeles Lakers forward Carlos Boozer, cannot be traded until July 2015.”
Check out the list of players with trade restrictions here: http://www.basketballinsiders.com/too-early-for-many-nba-players-to-be-traded/
More player updates:
– Reggie Jackson: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/reggie-jackson-embracing-the-task-of-saving-the-thunder-s-season-202546189.html
T.J. Warren: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/13/4318673_suns-coach-says-former-nc-state.html
– Jusuf Nurkic: http://www.nba.com/2014/news/features/scott_howard_cooper/11/14/ranking-rookies-by-position/
– Lance Thomas: http://newsok.com/article/5366586
Basketball Intelligence 